International Solar
Energy Solar Products
Specializing in water heaters but also offering an array of other solar products, the international firm of Energy Solar Products can meet any projects solar needs.
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corporate profile | solar
Globally Solar From Puerto Rico to the Panhandle and beyond Energy Solar Products offers an array of solar equipment that will meet any projects needs. by Joel Cornell
Rene Ruisanchez began his career in public water management systems in Puerto Rico in 1966. Today, his family owned and operated company Energy Solar Products, Inc. is one of the largest providers, manufacturers and designers of solar collectors and equipment in Puerto Rico. Energy Solar Products, Inc. has maintained a long history of quality and progress within Puerto Rico’s solar industry. Ruisanchez founded the company in 1981 based on the clear signs that Puerto Rico was to be a rich port for the solar industry in the years ahead. In 1996, his son, Rene Ruisanchez Jr. joined the company, eventually working his way through the ranks to become General Manager. Though covering a wide range of solar design and manufacturing capabilities, Energy Solar Products, Inc. has come to specialize in solar water heaters. With research and development facilities, manufacturing warehouses and their business and sales offices located together, Energy Solar Products, Inc. is perfectly poised to provide their services to the entire island. In 1999, while working on a solar assisted air conditioner research project in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico with the University of Puerto Rico, Ruisanchez met engineer Mario Colon-Bergollo, who joined the company in 2002 as the plant and purchasing manager, and is now a key person in the design, research and development of Energy Solar Product, Inc. systems. In the past few years, their business has also begun to expand into the continental United States, specifically Florida and other Southeastern states. Additionally, Energy Solar Products, Inc. has begun to expand to several other island countries located nearby in the Caribbean, such as the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, St. John’s, St. Martin’s, Netherlands Antilles and more. “Being located in Puerto Rico is ideal for being in the solar industry,” said Ruisanchez, who is currently serving as the company’s President. Because of its proximity to the equator, compared to the rest of the continental United States, Puerto Rico’s rate of insolation is much higher. 2 Energy Leaders Today
The approximate rate of solar irradiation in Puerto Rico is around 95% of what it would be on the equator, given perfectly sunny conditions with low levels of air pollution and abundant atmospheric clarity. With those same ideal conditions in a more Northerly location like Maine, total solar irradiation would drop considerably to somewhere around 70 percent of what would be achieved at the equator. Because of the increased capacity for solar power and sustainability in Puerto Rico and other nations in the Caribbean, many more houses per capita are beginning to power themselves completely using solar technology. According to the most recent statistics, Energy Solar Products, Inc. has manufactured the majority of solar panels for contractors, installers and construction companies in Puerto Rico. Of all buildings within Puerto Rico, approximately 30 percent either sustain themselves partially or contribute their excess solar-generated electricity back to the existing utility grid system for credit. The utility system for Puerto Rico is entirely consolidated under the government agency called the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). Energy Solar Products, Inc. specializes mainly in developing, designing and manufacturing solar panels and solar water heaters. However, they also put their expertise to good use in repairing their own and other companies’ solar equipment, usually on site. Also, they still maintain a business doing installations and rather large scale projects for the commercial and residential sectors alike. Recently, Energy Solar Products, Inc. recently completed an incredibly large solar array for a hospital in the Manatí principality in Puerto Rico. “This project was particularly challenging and complex,” said Ruisanchez Jr., “because we had to keep full power to the hospital at all times. We integrated our own unique solar arrays into the hospital’s power grid, ABOVE: A rooftop solar panel installation at a hospital in Manati, Puerto Rico. Right: Rene Ruisanchez Jr. holding a selective coated thermal fintube.
solar | corporate profile
Fall 2010 3
corporate profile | solar
while also keeping their diesel fire boilers up and also keep a large amount of their current power grid available for any time that solar power would not be enough. The controllers and balance for the entire grid were quite a challenge, but it was great to do some work for a hospital.” Because of the increased amount of solar irradiation in Puerto Rico, the region has many more possibilities for new and extensive uses. “One particularly interesting method we have been pursuing,” said Ruisanchez Jr., “is the idea of generating steam through solar power. Not just for the steam itself, of course, but generating that steam in such an efficient way that the end result would output much more electricity than if the solar energy were simply converted directly into electricity. “It’s not something that we can put into use right away, but our very talented research and development team has made some really exciting progress with it.” Not just content with providing efficient and cheap solar power to the citizen of Puerto Rico, Energy Solar Products, Inc. has also taken steps to reduce their own consumption of electricity, as well as the amount of waste they produce in the manufacturing of their solar products. In October of 2010, Energy Solar Products, Inc. made the switch from plasma welders to new, custom made, top-of-the-line ultrasonic welders. “The entire welding process is now far more efficient,” said Ruisanchez Sr. “Our plasma welders were much slower in comparison. The new ultrasonic welders use about a third of the energy, they are much simpler to maintain and produce much less copper scrap than we had to deal with in manufacturing before.” With a staff of 25 highly trained employees, with many decades of combined experience, Energy Solar Products, Inc. is among the premier solar panel manufacturers and installers in Puerto Rico. They manufacture an average of about 3,000 solar panels every year, three times what most other manufacturers in Puerto Rico can produce. This gives them a severe edge over their competition, and allows them to lead the solar market in Puerto Rico and the many surrounding markets. ELT LEFT: thermometer reading on a cloudy day. All photos courtesy of Energy Solar Products.
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