World’s Largest Laundromat uses Solar Hot Water
by Warren McLaren, Sydney 
on 04. 6.06
On the roof there are 36 solar hot water panels. Inside are a 157 washing machines and 145 dryers. So it’s big. Maybe not still living up to its moniker of the World’s Largest Laundromat. But the aspect that gets our attention is that the panels, installed by Solar Service, save the laundry, in Berwyn, Chicago “about $2,000 a month." They do this by displacing around 2 million Btu (British Thermal Units, if you must know) of natural gas per day for washing clothes. The 40 square foot panels, arrayed in two banks, heat some 2,400 gallons (9,000+ litres) of water a day, which is about 20% of the laundromat’s needs. The laundry anticipates a return on investment (ROI) of about 5 years. It helps that the state covered half of the cost on a dollar-per-dollar program. The total package is said to be the largest solar hot water system in the State of Illinois. Oh yeh, it is a community based venue too. In 2004 they gave away a dozen bikes to kids, who participated in a "Read to Ride" literacy campaign with the local library. Thanks to Tipster Anthony B. for pointing us to the story in the ::Chicago Tribune (might require a subscription), with other info gleaned from the Sun Times.
NB: See also the world's largest solar kitchen.
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that's really nice- i've heard of some big textile dying/printing/tanning factories treating waste onsite or redirecting it to biomass plants; are there any big laundromats doing similar work on controlling their effluent?
Solar Service is a great company with excellent customer service. We had them install thermal solar panels for hot water and heat in our home. They work great and with current Illinois incentives, I highly recommend it. fyi...Brandon is the principal owner of the company, not a "staffer," as indicated in the article.
Sandy: Have you ever heard of this place? Makes me go Hmmmmm? Clean or dirty, have a great weekend!
It'd be wonderful if there were laundromats doing similar work controlling their effluent; however, there is no financial incentive I know of to do so. With the installing of solar thermal, you're looking at a 5-8 year payback period, where after the system is simply making you money. There are only two moving parts in this system, and therefore these units require negligible maintenance. Our condominium had Solar Service conduct a survey in our building last week, and they put together a proposal that would pay for itself in less than 7 years with Natural Gas prices at current rates. As we all know, they're likely to continue to climb at alarming rates. At any rate, they are, as Janice said, a great company.