Chromagen Ltd. is negotiating with Dan Hotels Corp. Ltd. (TASE: DANH) and Hilton Hotels Corp. (NYSE:HLT) to install solar room and water heating systems at hotels in Israel.
Chromagen general manager Hagai Shefer says that the company has already installed 40 systems at hotels in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries. The installations are part of a global trend to save energy costs and prevent the emission of pollutants. He said that hotels are large energy consumers because of the need to supply a great deal of hot water for laundry, kitchens, and showers.
Chromagen is also supplying improved solar receivers for an experimental project in Japan and Spain, which will use thermal energy for cooling. The idea is to create air conditioning systems using solar energy, which will replace electrical systems. Shefer says that the project is extremely logical given that the hottest days are those with the brightest sun and result in the greatest demand for air conditioning.
Similar facilities are already in production, and several hundred have been installed in various locations around the world. Their biggest drawback is their high cost, which results in a return on investment in only 10-12 years. The developers believe that the cost of the technology will fall within two years, which will render it much more popular.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 30, 2007
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