PROJECT PROFILE
“Our roof top solar panels have been noticed by clients, SC state environmental awareness initiatives, and others passing by. It is our hope that by prominently displaying our Solar Hot Water system we can encourage other business owners to consider it’s value in commercial applications.
– Dr. Randy Basinger of SC Veterinary Specialists
Solar Hot Water
South Carolina Veterinary Specialists is a referral center for animals with medical or surgical problems requiring specialized training and equipment, including an underwater treadmill and therapeutic swimming pool. Both of these rehabilitation treatments use a lot of warm water so the benefit of solar water heating was immediate.
The state-of-the-art facility includes many energy efficiency measures and environmentally-friendly features in addition to the 3 collector solar thermal system, and it received the nationally-recognized 2010 Veterinary Hospital Design Award.
System Overview
- 3 4X10 AET Flat Plate Collectors
- 1 Vaughn Solar Sepco 120 gallon storage tank
- 1 Resol DeltaSol BS Pro Differential Controller
Commercial Spotlight: SC Veterinary Specialists
“Sunlight, clean air, and less reliance on traditional energy make for a longer, healthier life, and after all, that’s what we’re all about.” This statement sweetly sums it up for the SC Veterinary Specialists on their web page that describes their nationally recognized facilities. The dedicated visionary behind this state-of-the-art building that houses highly-specialized pet care services is Dr. Randy Basinger.
When I contacted Randy about sharing his experience with solar energy systems he kindly provided me with the following, and as he tells his story best, here it is:
“I was motivated to install solar hot water at my veterinary hospital primarily as an extension of my family’s environmental values. At our home we have a large vegetable garden, fruit trees and berry bushes, laying hens and bees. We have had Sundance Power supplied solar at our house for a number of years now and have been very happy how it has helped us with our home heating and hot water generation. It seemed natural we would carry that into our hospital design.
Our hospital has many “green features”, though the most prominent one is the solar panels visible to all the cars passing on Interstate 26 as they drive by. My architect was concerned that the solar panels would detract from what is a very attractive building, but I told him I was happy they were there for people to see!
SC Veterinary Specialists is a referral center for animals with medical or surgical problems require specialized training or equipment that their family veterinarian can’t provide. In this hospital we do a lot of orthopedic and neurological surgery, and many of those patients are also treated by our rehabilitation department. In this area, we use an Underwater Treadmill and a Swimming Pool to help restore these pets to function. Both of these areas use a lot of warm water, so the benefit of solar H20 heating was immediate.
SC Veterinary Specialists Surgery hospital received a 2010 Veterinary Hospital Design Award, competing with other hospitals around the entire United States. I’m sure the integration of the Solar Hot Water system and other green technologies played a part in us receiving that award. Our roof top solar panels have been noticed by clients, SC state environmental awareness initiatives, and others passing by. It is our hope that by prominently displaying our Solar Hot Water system we can encourage other business owners to consider its value in commercial applications.”Indeed, it makes only sense for a facility that offers the finest veterinary care possible to embody systems that operate as efficiently and cleanly as possible, protecting the life-sustaining resources that we all depend upon, especially, in this case, our four-legged friends!