The estimated reductions in GHG emissions is over 114
tonnes of CO2 per year. Goodyear already has a second
SolarWall system in operation in Napanee, Ontario.
“The SolarWall people have done a very professional job
of installing the equipment, it has been absolutely no trouble
and we are projecting annual savings of $21,675 in
natural gas costs alone, and we are also benefiting from
reduced negative pressure in our building. I would recommend
SolarWall to anyone who has a need for heated
replacement air in their facility.”
-Dave Hammel, CEM
Maintenance Manager
Goodyear, Medicine Hat
Goodyear Tire
Background
Goodyear is one of the world's leading tire companies, founded originally in 1898. Goodyear now operates 56 manufacturing facilities in 22 countries and has over 72,000 associates. It is a large multi-national corporation that recognized early-on the importance of sustainability. Beginning in the 1940s, Goodyear started an internal conservation award to encourage environmentally sound soil management. In the 1970s Goodyear established a formal energy conservation program that began energy reduction activities at every location. In the 1980s and 1990s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (and reduction progress/targets) were added to annual reports. In the 2000s Goodyear conducted a corporate wide environmental footprint analysis, with GHG emission reductions being a primary objective.
Solution
The maintenance manager at the Medicine Hat Goodyear Tire facility was looking at various energy saving options when he came across the SolarWall® air heating technology. The system addressed their largest usage of a building energy—ventilation heating—and also helped with the issue of negative pressure. (Negative pressure is very common in large industrial facilities in which more air is exhausted than brought in.) Goodyear Tire was trying to reduce the negative pressure in the building with natural gas-fired makeup air units, so the SolarWall system provides a direct energy reduction by delivering 18,000 cfm of heated air for approximately 14 hours a day. This also helps to reduce carbon emissions. The Goodyear tire plant in Medicine Hat Alberta was originally built in 1959, later expanded in 1999 to over 175,000 ft2 . The 3,000ft2 black SolarWall system was designed by Conserval Engineering. The project management and installation of the system was administered by Conserval’s Alberta dealer; NRG Management.
GoodYear_MedicineHatL_SolarWallCaseStudy_Y11(PDF)
