Outlook
BSW-Solar/Upmann
This solar thermal system on an apartment building in Berlin, Germany, supplies tenants with environmentally-friendly solar heat at no extra expense.
The importance of solar thermal energy technology was underestimated for a long time. But in light of increasing energy prices and the development of innovative solar heating, future expansion is to be expected. According to estimates by the German ‘Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft’ (BSW, the interest group of the German solar energy industry) solar thermal systems could cover a 30 % share of German heat consumption by 2030. Modern thermal energy management systems can significantly reduce operating costs, leading to a marked decrease in utilities costs in the residential sector. Solar thermal energy can also be integrated into multi-storey residential constructions without impacting rental or utilities prices.
Other applications are increasingly being used in combination with solar collectors, with cooling systems supported by solar energy showing particular promise. These use the heat captured by solar collectors to run refrigeration machines. Since November 2010, for instance, a German system has been supplying the Oxford Gardens Retirement Community in the Canadian province of Ontario with solar heat and solar cooling. This system is the largest installed in Canada that delivers both solar heat and cooling. The solar thermal system was integrated into the existing central cooling supply grid of the residence to provide supplemental cooling and thus reduce the electricity demand of the cooling machines.
Proterra
Ontario, Canada: The largest Canadian system to date for solar heating and cooling. German manufacturers produced the evacuated tubes and collectors for the system.
If the heat generated by the collectors exceeds the power requirement for driving the absorption refrigerator, it is used to reduce the amount of energy consumed by heating water and the swimming pool. During the heating period, the solar system supports residential heating and is able to cover 100 % of the energy supply for swimming pool operation and 10 % of the retirement home’s total heating needs.
Solar assisted cooling is of particular importance in countries with high cooling requirements. This forward-looking technology promises to reduce energy consumption and climate control costs in the long-term. Because solar cooling technology is still relatively new, installation costs are currently higher than those of conventional cooling systems. Among the reasons for the higher costs are the technology’s complexity and low level of industrialisation. Companies and research institutions are working to further develop this technology and make it more compact, less expensive and suitable for lower-output applications.
