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Energy Efficiency Expo: September 15 & 16, 2010 - Holiday Inn, Marlboro, MA at 265 Lakeside Ave (Rt. 20)

Nelson & Small, Inc. is hosting a 2-day Energy Efficiency Expo featuring their complete lines of energy efficient commercial laundry; heating & water-heating; alternative energy; and residential and commercial appliances.

The Commercial Laundry Division will be showcasing the all-new Electrolux Commercial Laundry line, which boasts some of the most innovative energy-saving technologies ever introduce. You'll see the Proto done-in-one wash/dry machine that can even send a text message when the load is nearly finished washing and drying. And high-g-force washers get laundry nearly dry so costly time in the dryer is held to a minimum.

The energy group will be showing its time-tested range of high-efficiency heating and water-heating products from Rinnai, Toyotomi, Monitor, Bosch, Lochinvar and Eternal. You'll also see our innovative lineup of alternative energy products including solar-thermal, wind power, geothermal, pellet boilers and wood, gas, & pellet stoves as well as LP and natural gas-powered standby generators.

Both divisions will host informative clinics and seminars throughout both days.

The appliance division will be on hand to show its line of domestic and commercial appliances from some of the best brands in the business. The show is open to dealers, property managers and the building trades.

Pre-registration for seminars is strongly encouraged.

Call 800-341-0780 for more information and to register.

Tax-Incentive-Inspired Solar Project Pays Off More Quickly than Inn Owners Expected

Colchester, Vermont — April 29, 2010 — The Handys are thrilled — their solar-thermal water-heating project has nearly paid for itself in seven months, instead of the four and a half years they had anticipated. They now expect that it will be completely paid off within the first year.

Last fall, Days Inn owners, Gabe and Diane Handy, upgraded the 10-year-old natural-gas and water-heating system for the inn by adding a solar-thermal system. They were inspired by a combination of new federal and state tax incentives that would cover a good chunk — at least 60 percent — of the upgrade costs.

The system, which heats water for the inn and its indoor pool, was projected to save enough fuel to pay for itself in four and a half years, with $20,000 in cumulative savings by year five, a 10 percent return on the Handys’ investment. They expected their cumulative savings over 25 years to be $169,000.

In reality, 73 percent of the project’s $85,000 cost was offset by tax incentives and write-offs. Those savings, combined with 50 percent fuel savings that the Handys realized this past winter, plus the substantially increased fuel savings they project for this summer, they expect that the project will have paid for itself within the first year.

“As the sun gets stronger and the summertime tourist season approaches, we are so excited to see the full potential of our fuel savings pay off this project. We expect our summer-season fuel cost to be substantially lowered,” said Diane.

The Handys also expect the system to reduce their inn’s greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 25,000 pounds per year. “We live and do business in a state that’s known for its environmental consciousness, and we’re really glad to be doing our part,” said Diane.

In addition to four hotels, the Handys own several apartment buildings, which collectively include over 200 units. “This worked out better than we could have dreamed. We will definitely convert the other buildings to solar thermal water-heating systems,” said Gabe. “Even if the tax incentives are gone by the time we get to the other buildings, the cost savings in fuel alone are worth it.”

Installing the solar thermal system at the inn last fall, the Handys were so impressed with the projected savings in costs and emissions that they changed plans for a brand-new building that was under construction. They fitted it with piping that would allow conversion to solar thermal down the road. They now plan to make that conversion this summer.

Nelson & Small representative, Marc Luther, who sold the solar thermal system to the Handys is, of course, delighted, as well.

“The business community as a whole has been surprisingly slow to take advantage of these new tax advantages,” said Luther. “The Handys are among the pioneers integrating solar thermal into their businesses, and they’re being richly rewarded for it.”

But Luther expects the rate of conversion to these new technologies to change quickly. “Now that the first ones are out of the starting blocks, others will follow — especially when they learn how well the Handys made out,” said Luther. “The sight of solar panels on commercial buildings will become much more common.”

Luther went as far as to project a new construction trend. “This is proving to be so cost effective that builders will begin planning ahead — like the Handys did — and preparing buildings for later addition of solar thermal.”

A 30-percent, no-cap federal investment tax credit for residential and commercial solar installations is in place through 2016, as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The act also allows for accelerated (5 year) depreciation on installed systems. In addition to that, the state of Vermont offers a 30-percent “Business Solar Tax Credit” for commercial installations of solar energy equipment, as part of the Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Handys installed an EnerWorks solar-thermal system, which includes 20 flat-panel collectors on the roof of the inn, four 120-gallon water storage tanks, a solar energy unit (SEU) monitoring system, and a solar heat exchanger for the indoor pool, which captures and puts to use excess heat generated by the system.
The system’s design and engineering was provided by EnerWorks and Nelson & Small, Inc., distributor of EnerWorks and other renewable energy products throughout New England and upstate New York.