Creighton University’s Graves Hall is the first North American facility to use VirtuHOT HD, a solar thermal collector from Naked Energy, implemented by ELM Solar of ELM Companies, Naked Energy’s North American distributor. VirtuHOT HD will significantly save on water heating costs and assist the university in achieving sustainability goals. The new residence hall recently opened for the fall 2023 semester and is home to 400 first-year students at Creighton’s Omaha campus.
Placed on the roof of Graves Hall, VirtuHOT HD collectors use the sun’s power to heat the dormitory’s water while saving money on energy costs. VirtuHOT HD‘s low profile (measuring 10.4 inches high) and modular design feature angled absorber plates that collect more sunlight than traditional solar panels. This maximizes the potential of the roof space by generating more energy per square foot than any other solar technology. The installation at Graves Hall is expected to generate 237,000 BTU (69.9 kilowatts) of thermal energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy says energy use for heating water accounts for around 20 percent of household energy use, and grid connection requests grew by 40 percent in 2022. As grids across the country are put under increasing strain, the risk of grid instability rises in tandem. Innovative solar thermal systems such as VirtuHOT HD take water heating demands off-grid, freeing up grid capacity for other uses.
