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Dairy farmers in Amish and Mennonite communi- ties, also known as "the plain people," are prospective customers, the partners said, in part because dairy farm- ers must sanitize their milking system every day. "That requires 140-degree water going into the system and it must be 120 degrees when it comes out of the system," Steiner said. Further, Steiner said, people in "the plain community look to use little to no electric power, so they're running diesel motors connected to refrigerant systems to cool their milk." That the solar device uses no additional power appeals to that market. "Think of it as an on-demand solar unit," he said. "There's no storage tank, and no extra circulator pumps. It uses no electric- ity or any other energy to generate this hot water." The partners said they had put together a certifica- tion program for selling and installing the systems. They are not "incredibly difficult" to install, Steiner said, but considering the units generate water temperatures well over 200 degrees, there are safety guidelines that must be followed. Correct integration into the existing system ensures that domestic water remains domestic water and water for heating purposes is used for heating, Steiner noted. Another important step is the installation of the mix- ing valve to ensure temperatures for domestic water com- ply with those required by local building codes, Steiner pointed out. Rayviance, which is based in Lewisburg, Pa., and is the sole U.S. distributor of the solar systems, will issue certifi- cates to those who complete training, Steiner said. Depending on a number of factors, the price of the units to customers can range from approximately $5,500 to approximately $7,500, van Wagenberg said. One of those factors is the size of the structure. The systems are in three sizes. "A lot of it has to do with the demand of the home," Steiner said. A two-bath, three-bedroom house has dif- ferent water demand than a seven-bedroom, four-bath house, he noted. www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | FEBRUARY 2015 35 HVAC/ HydroniCs Residential solar installations have grown in 18 of the last 19 quarters, reports a solar industry trade group. The United States installed 1,354 megawatts of solar photovol- taics in the third quarter of 2014, up 41% over the same period last year, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, prepared by GTM Research, a research and con- sulting firm, and the Solar Energy Industries Association. "Solar's continued, impres- sive growth is due, in large part, to smart and effective public policies, such as the solar Investment tax credit, net energy metering and renewable portfolio standards," Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO, said in a Dec. 9 statement accompanying the release of the report. The report tracks installations across three market segments: utility-scale, residential and non- residential which includes com- mercial, government and non-profit installations. Historically, the U.S. utility-scale market segment has accounted for the majority of PV installations, the trade group noted, and this trend continues. The U.S. installed 825 MW of utility-scale projects, up from 540 MW in Q3 2013. This marks the sixth straight quarter in which utility-scale PV has accounted for more than 50% of the national total. The U.S. residential market exceeded 300 MW in a quarter for the first time in history, according to the report. More than half of this total came online without any state incentive, the report noted. Residential continues to be the most reliable market segment, now growing 18 out of the past 19 quar- ters. GTM Research forecasts it to exceed the non-residential segment in annual installations for the first time in more than a decade. "Residential solar has become a remarkably consistent, growing market" said Shayle Kann, senior vice president at GTM Research. "By the end of this year [2014] there will be more than 600,000 homes outfitted with solar, and we see no signs of a slowdown [in 2015]. By 2017, we expect the residential sector to be the largest in the U.S. solar market." The non-residential market continues its struggles of late, due in part to incentive depletion in California and Arizona. Installations in the segment were down 3% over Q3 2013. However, GTM Research and SEIA do expect year-over-year growth for the non- residential market. The report forecasts the U.S. to install 6.5 GW of PV in 2014, a 36% increase over the historic 2013. According to the report, the third quarter of 2014 was the nation's second largest quarter ever for PV installations and brings the country's cumulative solar PV capacity to 16.1 gigawatts, with another 1.4 GW of concentrating solar power capacity. Through the first three quarters of the year, solar represents 36% of new capacity to come on-line, up from 29% in 2013 and 9.6% in 2012, according to the report. The Solar Energy Industries Association is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. For more information, visit the SEIA website at seia.org. Residential Solar Electricity Installations Growing "By the end of this year [2014] there will be more than 600,000 homes outfitted with solar, and we see no signs of a slowdown [in 2015]" The Rayviance solar water heater.