Solar hot water for guests at the Marriot’s Courtyard hotel in Greenville

A hotelier with a heart… Frank Marshall’s company aims to educate guests with the concept of using solar energy and to promote what he preaches, the new Courtyard hotel by Marriot in Greenville heats up 3,000 gallons of water a day using solar heaters. Guests can enjoy a hot shower using water heated by the largest solar water heater in the state. The system for the hotel was built by North Carolina’s FLS Energy using glycol, an organic compound used widely as an automotive antifreeze. Glycol is an odorless, colourless, sweet-tasting liquid and ironically can cause death when consumed. Guess they found out the ‘sweet taste’ when the person died after consumption.

The ‘brilliant’ feature of this system is that it works better during the cold months when the sun is at a lower angle. A hot shower is, of course, more suitable for the cold months. Frank suggests that everyone who wants a bit of ‘solar’ can ‘easily and cost-effectively’ install solar heaters at home. Why does this NOT sound like a complex mathematical equation, I wonder.
[WSPA]