One of the common questions we receive about the new proposed common area solar electricity system has been: "will we use this new solar system to heat the pool?" The answer is, unfortunately not. Here's why:
There are two general kinds of solar power systems. The first uses photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy into electricity to replace the monthly recurring expenses paid to SDG&E. This is the kind of system we propose to add to our community strictly as a way to eventually save all of us the high cost of our SDG&E bills each month. Nothing about our community operation changes at all with this system; it is strictly a way to save us all the ever-increasing costs of electricity without any additional fees or assessments to any of us.
The second kind of solar system pumps water (from a water heater or pool pump) through solar panels to heat that water. A few Timberlane II owners have previously installed these kinds of "solar hot water" panels on their own units for their own hot water and it is certainly feasible to consider a hot water solar system to heat our pool.
Unfortunately, It is not efficient to use photovoltaic solar panels to create electricity to heat the pool. This would add significant cost and would require a much larger area for the panels than to do this with hot water solar panels. Initial estimates indicate that we would need about a 100K-150K BTU heating system that would require a photovoltaic solar array about three times larger than the proposed system. And, this would not be a cost savings to the community that the proposed solar photovoltaic system will provide. Instead, a pool heating system is a new expense and would need to be approved by the majority of owners. If we wish to heat the pool, a proposal can be made to install a solar hot water system for this purpose and we invite any owners to help research a proposal for such a system. However, this is a completely separate system and proposal from the current proposal for a photovoltaic solar system and the two system concepts should not be confused.
Please feel free to ask any additional questions about the proposed electric solar system that you have so that you can feel confident that this is a good thing for you and for our community. We welcome your input and questions. You can address them to De Novo or send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com and an HOA Board member will reply promptly. We still need more more owners to vote for this system to gain the necessary approval, so please return your ballot as soon as convenient. If you send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com, we'll also be happy to come by and pick up your ballot to save you a stamp, too! We appreciate your support to this plan that will save costs for all of us.
There are two general kinds of solar power systems. The first uses photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy into electricity to replace the monthly recurring expenses paid to SDG&E. This is the kind of system we propose to add to our community strictly as a way to eventually save all of us the high cost of our SDG&E bills each month. Nothing about our community operation changes at all with this system; it is strictly a way to save us all the ever-increasing costs of electricity without any additional fees or assessments to any of us.
The second kind of solar system pumps water (from a water heater or pool pump) through solar panels to heat that water. A few Timberlane II owners have previously installed these kinds of "solar hot water" panels on their own units for their own hot water and it is certainly feasible to consider a hot water solar system to heat our pool.
Unfortunately, It is not efficient to use photovoltaic solar panels to create electricity to heat the pool. This would add significant cost and would require a much larger area for the panels than to do this with hot water solar panels. Initial estimates indicate that we would need about a 100K-150K BTU heating system that would require a photovoltaic solar array about three times larger than the proposed system. And, this would not be a cost savings to the community that the proposed solar photovoltaic system will provide. Instead, a pool heating system is a new expense and would need to be approved by the majority of owners. If we wish to heat the pool, a proposal can be made to install a solar hot water system for this purpose and we invite any owners to help research a proposal for such a system. However, this is a completely separate system and proposal from the current proposal for a photovoltaic solar system and the two system concepts should not be confused.
Please feel free to ask any additional questions about the proposed electric solar system that you have so that you can feel confident that this is a good thing for you and for our community. We welcome your input and questions. You can address them to De Novo or send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com and an HOA Board member will reply promptly. We still need more more owners to vote for this system to gain the necessary approval, so please return your ballot as soon as convenient. If you send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com, we'll also be happy to come by and pick up your ballot to save you a stamp, too! We appreciate your support to this plan that will save costs for all of us.