News Brief

SunCache Used in Sacramento Rehab Project

by Emily Bragonier

California-based Harpiris Energy recently completed the first large multi-unit installation of its SunCache low-cost, plastic solar water heaters at a senior housing complex in Sacramento, California. (SunCache was named a top-10 product by BuildingGreen in 2008; see

EBN Dec. 2008.)

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency placed 65 of the SunCache units on 37 buildings it was renovating on two sites. The passive pre-heating units draw city water into a collector and move it through a copper heat exchanger; heat is extracted from water sitting in a 50-gallon (190 l) tank that is part of the collector. The water then enters an existing water heater.

According to the company, the SunCache system may achieve annual savings of $1,000 compared to electric water heaters. Developed in part with a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the system costs roughly $2,000, with installation running about $3,500. It comes with a ten-year warranty, and is appropriate for warmer climates. More information is available at www.harpiris.com.

Published January 1, 2010

Bragonier, E. (2010, January 1). SunCache Used in Sacramento Rehab Project. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/newsbrief/suncache-used-sacramento-rehab-project

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Volume 19, Issue 1