Community Environmental Center Installs Solar Thermal System at JCC on Staten Island

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

A solar panel array at the Jewish Community Center on Staten Island

Queens, NY – November 30, 2011—The 24-panel Solar Hot Water system now adorning the roof of the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center on Staten Island, NY, was installed by Community Environmental Center (CEC) of Queens, announced CEC’s President, Richard Cherry.

The SHW system, which was designed by Quixotic Systems Inc. of Manhattan, was unveiled on November 22.

“The JCC of Staten Island is a green, forward-looking organization,” said Cherry. “Using the sun to heat the water they use – 2,000 gallons a day, approximately – keeps down their use of fossil fuels and reduces greenhouse gases, mitigating the climate crisis about which we are all very concerned.”

The SHW system uses 4’ x 10’ panels designed by Heliodyne™ of California, and the panels connect to a 1,500-gallon German-designed tank in the JCC’s basement. Community Environmental Center installed the system using the pre-existing bar joists that support the JCC’s spacious roof.

The new SHW system cost $170,000, of which $120,000 came from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and $50,000 from New York City’s Economic Development Corporation.

The JCC, which is equipped with an Olympic-size swimming pool as well as facilities for soccer, basketball and gymnastics, estimates that it has been spending roughly $5,500 each year to heat water for showers and washing machines, among other needs. It is expected that the SHW system will save the JCC approximately $4,000 a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 27,500 pounds a year.

“Every SHW system is custom-designed and installed,” said CEC’s Solar Thermal Project Director, Sal Iacono, “because there are always variables in terms of hot-water usage, roof structure and available space. But the SHW system at the Staten Island JCC is a particularly fine example of how solar thermal can have a beneficial impact, reducing a nonprofit’s cost of heating water and improving the environment.”

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