Los Ebanistas Construction, a home construction company, has started installing SPP-25 evacuated tube solar thermal collectors manufactured by Solar Panels Plus (SPP) at new homes being built by it at Northern New Mexico. SPP designs and manufactures solar water heating collectors, photovoltaic solar panels, solar heating and air conditioning systems.
COO of Solar Panels Plus, John Williams, said the company is delighted that its solar collectors are being installed in new homes in New Mexico and is looking forward to provide most efficient solar products in the industry to more home owners. Williams stated that in Northern New Mexico temperatures can be low for flat panel collectors to be effective throughout the year and the correct choice for typical low-temperature regions is evacuated tube collectors.
Los Ebanistas installed its first solar thermal system at its main facility and comprises seven SPP-30 solar thermal collectors with each collector having 30 evacuated tubes. The company is using SPP-25, a smaller 25-tube type, for single family homes. The solar evacuated tube collectors are capable of operating in any kind of extreme environment, including freezing or cold climates. They are suitable for situations where water at temperatures at or above 120ºF is required irrespective of cloudy or cold climates.
Mark Johnson, owner, Los Ebanistas, said the company has installed two SPP solar water heating systems and will be installing five more systems. Johnson commented the system functions extremely well in cold climates of Northern New Mexico and is capable of heating water to 120ºF easily on cloudy conditions or in snowstorms.
Incentives for New Mexico homeowners for installing solar thermal system includes 10% solar credit up to $9,000 and 30% federal tax credit from federal government. In addition, 7% sales tax on solar system purchase is also waived.