Check out this ‘solar wall’ installed on the side of a New York hospital
New York City solar installer Quixotic Systems has designed an innovative solar solution in the heart of the Bronx at Urban Health Plan’s Simpson Pavilion. Unlike most rooftop systems, the 37-kW array has been installed on the side of the building – a “solar wall” that will optimize the facility’s clean energy production and save money for critical community healthcare services.
Urban Health Plan (UHP) is a network of community health centers based in the South Bronx and Queens. In 2014, UHP built the Simpson Pavilion, a state-of-the-art expansion facility, to expand and increase its services to patients in the South Bronx. The facility houses adult medicine, walk-in, pediatrics, behavioral health and OB/GYN departments as well as a gym for patients and a teaching kitchen for nutrition education.
The PV system designed and installed by the team at Quixotic foregoes limited roof space in favor of the Bronx building’s south-facing four-story façade. The high-efficiency array features 104 SunPower 327 panels mounted on a custom vertical rack.
Despite its urban density, New York City has seen increasing installations of solar energy over the past few years. Across the five boroughs the number of residential installations has surged to nearly 6,000 in 2016 from less than 200 five years ago, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Rising electricity prices and plummeting costs for installing solar – together with attractive state and federal tax incentives — have been largely responsible for the industry’s growth in NYC.
Simpson Pavilion is a 54,000-square-foot expansion facility is LEED-certified Gold for its many green- building features, including sustainably sourced and recycled building materials. The center is situated on an existing urban site in a densely populated area and has been built with highly efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems to reduce use of natural resources and cut greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the solar wall, the facility features a “green roof” containing 2,000 square feet of plants to mitigate heat and reduce storm water runoff.
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