InSpire Solar Air Heating Wall heats in winter and cools in summer

As a full-service distributor of electrical and data communications products, Western Extralite decided to leverage technology in their new warehouse in Manhattan, Kansas.  The building was built with a long, south-facing wall that had great solar exposure.  Solar air heating is a relatively simple, low-cost technology with the most attractive payback of all of the solar technologies.  The company selected The Energy Savings Store to install the solar air heating system, which both heats in the winter and cools in the summer.

Air is distributed through a "sock" duct suspended from the warehouse ceiling

In the cool months of winter, the InSpire Solar Air Heating Wall from Atas  pre-heats outside air using solar energy, which is distributed into the 17,000 square ft. building through a porous "sock" duct suspended from the ceiling.  In the summer, the system distributes cool overnight air into the building to cool the facility.  The system is designed to dramatically reduce heating and cooling costs of the building and should have a 6-8 year payback.  In addition, the company is proud to be reducing its carbon footprint and improving air quality.

This solar air heating system was the first of its kind in the Midwest, and is surely to be a model for future development.  The company has other facilities across Missouri, Kansas and Illinois, and hopes to capitalize on this technology in other locations.