The Genoa Township Park District is helping the environment and saving taxpayers money through the installation of a solar water heating system at the public pool. The decision to go solar was made after an energy audit by Building Energy Experts, an energy management consultation and installation firm. The audit revealed that even before state incentives, solar pool heating provided the best return on investment. The project is estimated to pay for itself in 2.5 years.

With the help of Building Energy Experts, the Genoa Park District qualified for Illinois’ Solar and Wind energy grant that paid for 50 percent of the project. In addition, Building Energy Experts manufactured and installed the solar panels. The installation took 2 weeks to complete.  

Utilizing a free energy source, pool water is pumped to the roof where it is heated through the solar collectors. The new collectors were fully integrated with the conventional pool pump and filter system. It does not include freeze-protection, as the outdoor pool is only used during the summer.