| Los Angeles Times
October 14, 1984nnnnnn
n The Hardest Part? Finding the job nnSolar Installer Enmeshed nnBy Complex Apartment nnnn nnBy TERENCE M. GREEN Times Staff Writer mm nA renter's paradise -- a developer's dream -- and a solar installer's nightmare! That is the way Bob Ellis, a solar system installer, described The Meadows, perched on a low bluff overlooking the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City. nSprawling over 13 acres, the apartment complex has 690 units in 21 building, six swimming pools and spas, five tennis courts, two 500-space parking garages and a dozen man-made streams, pools and waterfalls, all tucked away in a veritable jungle of foliage ranging from low bushes to full-sized trees, sometimes so thick the buildings can hardly be seen. nWhen the Ring Brothers Corp., developer and owner-operator, decided to sol- arize the complex, everyone concerned knew they had a problem. Somehow, places had to be found for 15,000 square feet of solar collector panels and 20,000 gallons of water storage. nA 5,000-gallon tank weighs about 20 tons filled with water and well over a ton empty, but the really difficult (Ellis added, "and scary") part of the job was not so much the size as the complexity of the layout. Ellis is vice president of Environ- ment Solar Design, Inc. of North Hollywood, the company that designed and installed the system; he told a visitor (who at the time was completely lost in the |
.jpg) nfor solar installation at the Meadows, Culver City napartment complex, weighs about 20 tons nwhen it is filled. Lush landscaping shows in nbackground. |