First Solar Wall in PACAF, Alaska performing well

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Gross
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  In November 2008, Alaska and the Pacific Air Forces installed their first Solar Wall on Elmendorf, and ever since then it has held up to its expectations. 

Francis Sheridan Elmendorf's resource efficiency manager was responsible for brainstorming the idea to install a Solar Wall as a way to save the Air Force money. 

"So far, we think it's working pretty well," said Sheridan. 

The walls which are installed on the west and east sides of the 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron have saved the Elmendorf $15,000 in energy bills so far. 

"It is a passive solar heating system. It's a pre heat for our outside air," said Sheradin explaining how the Solar Wall works. "It's a perforated piece of sheet metal that hangs outside in ideal situations." 

Sheradin said that once the air is ventilated inside the building that it is already 10 degrees or more warmer than the outside temperature. This means less energy is being used to heat the air, which saves money, he said. 

Even though the Solar Wall is an efficient money saver, it is not all that new. The solar wall was developed after much research and several prototypes done by John Hollick, president of the Conserval Engineering Inc., located in Toronto, Canada. 

"It actually works better on cold winter days when there's snow on the ground," said Hollick. "The snow will reflect up to 50 percent more sunlight. It is ideally suited for northern latitudes." 

"Over a thousand of these systems are out there. We have them in about 30 countries and most took place in the last six years," said Hollick. 

Hollick said that the Solar Wall wasn't initially a big hit when it was first invented because fuel cost was still reasonably low. However, since the high rise in fuel cost during the past decade, ways to conserve energy in some areas has become a top priority. 

"The people who put them in seem to really like them. I think it's the fact there's no maintenance with it, Hollick said. It does provide a lot of energy on a sunny day it should heat the air between 30 to 40 degrees." 

As far as for its durability, Hollick said, "The solar panel itself should last as long as the building because it has no moving parts. It's all metal construction." 

So far, about 10 of the Solar Wall structures have been installed at eight Air Force bases in the past six years and future plans for more are under way.