The North Carolina Solar Center, located on N.C. State’s campus, has been testing solar collectors for durability and performance ever since it received certification from the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation last year.
According to Tommy Cleveland, the renewable energy project coordinator at the NCSC, the center, which has been operating since 1988, serves as a testing site for clean energy technology, among other tasks.
The center’s current project aims to make solar collectors more efficient. Manufacturers send solar collectors or prototypes to the Solar Center to be tested before they are sold to the public, according to Michael Ross, the test laboratory manager for the NCSC.
Currently, a solar thermal collector can convert about 70 percent of the heat collected from the sun into hot water that can be used to provide a household with energy.
Ross said that solar heat collectors are very energy efficient compared to certain types of solar panels and using collectors to heat water lowers electricity and natural gas usage.
Though there are many benefits to solar collectors and panels, there are also a few disadvantages.
For example, most people don’t need as much hot water as a solar collector can provide, and although the solar panels that convert light into energy are still useful, especially in areas that don’t use natural gas, Cleveland said the panels are also expensive to install, costing about $6,000.
According to Ross, mainly hotels, restaurants and rest areas use the collectors because they are an inexpensive way to supply large amounts of hot water.
Cleveland said the center has spent more money than it has made because it just started testing. However, Cleveland and others at the NCSC said they’re hoping to eventually be self-sufficient, and that the project will eventually start to generatemore income.
Though the process of testing solar collectors isn’t particularly lucrative at this point, Ross said the center will continue testing because it is a necessary service.
Ross said in 2008 there were three labs in the country that tested collectors. The North Carolina Solar Center decided to seek accreditation because of the heavy demand for renewable energy as a result of stimulus funding.
However, that process proved to be fairly difficult.
“We were trying to help out with backlog, but we were a bit naive in thinking we could do it quickly,” Ross said.
To be accredited, centers must follow a set of rules on how to run the business, how to run tests and how to report results, Ross said.
In order to be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation must certify the center, according to Cleveland.
The SRCC is a U.S. nonprofit organization that has been around since the 1880s and certifies groups to test solar collectors.
Cleveland said that though manufactures are not required to get their products tested, they would receive no tax credit and would ultimately not be able to sell them.
The center collects data that allow manufacturers to compare numbers and give consumers confidence in the products they are purchasing, honest, Ross said.