The Power of the Sun

Most of us have heard about photovoltaic panels, but not about solar air conditioning. The technology behind solar air conditioning is actually quite old, however we have not been able to put it to good use until now, mainly because of the lack of adequate equipment. There is an Austrian company called Solar Installation + Design (SOLID, www.solid.at) that specializes in implementing these systems, their projects include installations on the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in Austria and also in certain structures that will be used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, among other places. It uses an absorption chiller in conjunction with special solar panels, heat exchangers and pumps to cool the air. I was able to be at one of their presentations and learn more about their systems and these are a couple things I was told.

• Solar Air Conditioning is geared to supplying a commercial space with cool air.
• It can be retrofitted to an existing central air conditioning ducting system.
• If needed it can provide hot water as well.
• Only uses electricity for pumps and fans, which can be supplied by photovoltaics or other renewable sources if needed.
• Cheaper to implement than Photovoltaics (in cost installed per kW supplied)
• Usually does not require much roof space for installation.
• Payback period ranging from 5-10 years.
• Minimum useful life of 25 years.