Bentley College Will Use Solar Heating

Bentley College, a four-year business school in Waltham, will install solar heating for one-half of its residential campus this spring to alleviate high energy costs and to develop an awareness of alternative fuel sources among its students, a school official said yesterday.

"We had to do something to reduce the energy charges since Bentley College is an all-electric campus," David W. Ellis, vice president for institutional advancement, said yesterday. He added Bentley's energy cost has tripled in the last five years.

Sound Business

"In addition to the energy concern, the businessmen that we train should be familiar with an alternative fuel source from a business investment standpoint for the future," Ellis said.

"The entire project will cost $520,000, but we estimate in a 40 year period we will save $1.7 million," Ellis said. The school has received a $150,000 grant for building costs from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under the residential solar demonstration program.

A low-interest loan from HUD will supply 65 per cent of the remaining funds. Private sources including Boston Edison Co., and the Office of Energy Resources for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will fund the rest of the cost.

Watching

The energy system, which will provide most of the hot water needs for two dormitories housing 720 students, will consist of 320 ground-mounted solar collectors, making it one of the largest in the country.

One reason for mounting the system on the ground as opposed to on the roofs is to "tie this all in with the academic program for study," Ellis said. "Students cannot climb on the roofs to observe the system and so by locating it on the ground, they can get a close-up view," he added.

Harvard University had considered solar heating during the planning stages of the Observatory Hill athletic facility at the Radcliffe Quad, Burton Wolfman, administrative dean of Radcliffe College, said yesterday. He said the planners conducted a study which demonstrated no major savings of energy or cost would result from the installation of solar electricity.

"The position and angle of the building also posed a problem since many trees surround the new complex," Wolfman said. He added that cutting down the trees would have antagonized the residents of the neighborhood.