Corrections’ latest energy achievement is a new solar hot water system, recently installed in the Christchurch Men’s Prison laundry. Twenty-one solar panels, covering 97 square metres, make the system one of the biggest in the country.
The prison laundry operates 13 hours per day, five days a week, and its washing machines consume about 7,000 litres of hot water every day.
On its first day of operation, a sunny winter’s day in August, the system produced 3,125 litres - about 45 per cent of the laundry’s daily hot water requirement. The system is being monitored by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and a full report on performance is expected by mid 2009.
Corrections has done a lot of work with solar power in recent years. A system of a similar size was installed at Spring Hill Corrections Facility last year. The year before, Corrections installed 20 solar hot water systems in self-care units at five different prisons.
At last year’s Govt3 awards, Corrections won the award for Sustainable Improvement in Energy Efficiency.
Corrections Energy Manager Cees Ebskamp says the Department has a national solar study underway, to identify the best sites to install solar water heating. “Corrections is absolutely committed to reducing our energy use, and leading the move towards sustainable energy.”
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ISSN 1178-8453