Eutopia cafe harnesses solar energy

 

Kaiwaka’s Eutopia Cafe has undergone a huge transformation into an attractive and artistic stop-over for a coffee or meal – for locals and travellers. Owners Marijke and Rob have worked many years on a unique renovation with incredible passion and endless patience to finish the many artistic details that have been incorporated into the cafe building.

But not only is their environmetally-conscious philosophy reflected artistically and in a unique menu, attention to detail also extends to their use of natural elements, like the sun, to harness power and run the restaurant kitchen hot water system.

The kitchen at Eutopia uses a lot of hot water for dishwashing and cleaning. For this reason Marijke and Rob have chosen to install a European solar hot water system designed by EWATEC Ltd. For more than eight months the SHW will produce FREE hot water between 40-80C. The other four months the solar cylinder will have produced preheated water between 25-40C. If the preheated water is not hot enough, the gas heater tops it up instantaneously.

Solar hot water The use of solar energy can contribute heavily to reducing the cost of producing the daily hot water needs for New Zealanders. Domestic hot water production is the most common application for solar energy. During summer almost all hot water applications can be provided by the solar system. In the winter the sun may provide 30% or more of the required energy needs.

A solar hot water system with the best performance for the NZ climate consist of following elements:
• Advanced flat glazed collector – toughened glass and selective absorbers.
• Stainless steel hot water cylinder.
• Solar controller and temperature sensors for performance monitoring.

„ For more information contact Eric Jansseune at EWA-TEC Ltd, Environmental Solar Engineering. Online ewatec-global.com, mob 021 0223 1700, or email ericjansseune1957@gmail.com