The Greenwich Avenue Car Wash in Stamford is now successfully operating a solar thermal installation to heat its water, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund announced on Wednesday.
The Clean Energy Fund provided $28,875 to install a solar thermal system at the car wash at 229 Greenwich Ave. The system provides 700 gallons of hot water daily.
The solar-heated water provides a better car wash, said CEO Gregg Mercede. Because hot water is more expensive, most car washes use cold water, even though hot water cleans better.
“I can offer a better car wash now, for the same price as my competitors. And I’m doing it using a minimum of fossil fuels,” Mercede said in a press release. “It made good economic sense, and I’m proud to have reduced my carbon footprint to a fraction of what it would have been if I’d used a conventional heating system.
