? Our Work

Our Work

Rowland Court Apartments
300 Broce Drive Blacksburg, VA


Apartment owner Dave Roper came to us with a desire to make his building more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable. Long a proponent of all things green, Dave also wanted to show what other property owners could achieve to lessen their energy needs. The fact that hot water was already included in the tenant's rent, made the addition of a solar hot water system appealing.

Initially, each of the twelve apartments was served by their own electric hot water heater. To integrate solar water heating, these tanks were plumbed together to form a district hot water system. Our "solar storage tank," became the combined volume of the existing tanks; 400 gallons in this case. Two tanks were omitted from the circulation loop to provide backup heat for times of low solar resource. The water in the storage loop is pumped through a heat exchanger in the attic that pulls heat from the solar collectors.

Five Apricus AP-30 collectors, mounted on the south wall, capture the sun's heat. This type of collector was chosen for several reasons. First, the building's east/west roof orientation did not favor a rooftop install. The south wall faces almost true south, so was well suited for mounting. Secondly, the space available on the wall for the collectors was a limiting factor in our goal to provide over half of the building's hot water. Evacuated tubes have a higher energy density per area than do flat plate collectors. This meant that we could capture the same amount of solar energy in less space. Finally, the installation of the tubes in an awning configuration provided mid-day shade for residents and added visual appeal to the building as a whole.

Dave has been very pleased with his system and is seeing the benefits already. "I was very pleased with the quality of the work and the fact that I was consulted at every stage of the planning and installation. I highly recommend Baseline Solar Solutions for solar-energy installations."

Grid-tie PV System


With an eye toward a future PV installation, the owners of this residence had a conduit from the porch to the mechanical room installed during construction. When the funds became available to install a system, this conduit made it easy to integrate solar into the existing wiring. 2kW of Sanyo 200 panels cover the south facing porch and a Fronius inverter delivers the power to the grid. High insulation levels and a tight building envelope mean that this relatively small system should provide over half of the house's electrical needs. When the first utility bill arrived showing a surplus of kilowatt hours in the bank, the owners were thrilled.

Residential Systems


This gallery features both residential PV and solar hot water systems. A short description accompanies each image.

Electric Truck Conversion


The conversion of a 1988 Ford Ranger pickup to electric operation is an ongoing project for Baseline Solar. This truck will be gutted of engine, gas tank, exhaust, and all other components associated with an internal combustion engine in favor of an electric motor and batteries.

Electric vehicles have been around for quite a while but have never caught on as mainstream transportation. Many tout them as zero-emission vehicles, which is true if you're talking about the tailpipe. The electricity used to charge them usually comes from a powerplant which does pollute. However, the emissions released per unit of energy for electricity is less than that for gasoline, so a significant reduction is still realized. We are working to reduce or eliminate all emissions of course, and solar panels provide a means to achieve truly zero-emission vehicles.

The value and savings an electric vehicle provides come from its lower operating costs. Even with recent utility rate increases, electricity is still cheaper than petroleum. EV's are also much cheaper to maintain than a traditional automobile because the part most likely to wear out or need service, the internal combustion engine, has been removed. Becuase of their limited range per charge, EV's are still best suited for in-town driving, which is where traditional automobiles suffer their greatest inefficiencies anyway. Our truck won't be getting on the highway much, but will be perfect for in-town parts runs.

20 6V lead acid batteries wired in series will be used to power the motor (the same batteries used in golf carts). 120V of power should give us an in-town range of 30-40 miles. The bulk of these batteries will be placed between the frame rails under the bed of the truck. This will give it a lower center of gravity but will also allow the bed to be used for its intended purpose: hauling! A tilt-bed feature will be added so that the batteries are still easy to access and service.

As progress is made, pictures will be posted here with a short description of the work shown.