EXAMPLES OF NATURAL REFRIGERANT STORIES IN ARTICLE 5 COUNTRIES AND EITS JULY 2014
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Print this page Close window Hospital installs the largest solar-assisted cooling system in Australia 02 June 2014 The largest solar cooling plant built in Australia, and one of the largest in the world, can be found at the Echuca Regional Hospital in Victoria. The project, developed by WSP Lincolne Scott, reduces energy use by 382MW per year, operating costs by AUD$ 60,000 ( 40, 900) per year, and carbon emissions by 1400 tonnes CO 2 eq, thanks to a single 500kW gas-powered absorption chiller. It has also reduced the peak electrical maximum demand at the site by 13%. The project, which was jointly funded by Sustainability Victoria, Echuca Regional Health and the Victorian Department of Health, provides low cost and sustainable cooling for the Echuca hospital, which provides services to around 14,000 people. Talking about the reasons behind the hospital s investment in solar cooling, Marthinus Noyce, an associate director with WSP Lincolne Scott said, this was a client who had a clear goal to install a sustainable solution to their very real problem. The hospital also saw an opportunity to apply for funding from Sustainability Victoria and provide a great example of what solar cooling could achieve. 500kW absorption chiller uses sun s energy to generate sustainable cooling With a solar field covering 300m 2, the system works by capturing the sun's rays and generating hot water, which is sent to an absorption chiller, supplying low cost and sustainable cooling to three hospital buildings, including operating theatres and hospital wards. The system features a Broad 500kW absorption chiller mainly powered by a steam plate heat exchanger and utilises over 102 evacuated tube solar collectors to heat the water (95ºC) that feeds into the absorption chiller, producing cold water (6ºC) that is then circulated for air-conditioning. The system also uses Grundfos pumps. The design, which reduces gas consumption, enables hot water from the collector field to supplement the hospital's hot water needs or be stored in two 5,000 liter tanks for later use when demand for hospital cooling is low. Moreover, the installation includes comprehensive monitoring and control technology to optimise the use of solar energy and maximise cost savings. System benefits: Reduces burden on hospital s electricity network, which was becoming overburdened by rising air conditioning needs Reduces the hospital s energy consumption Reduces the hospital s carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels Project Outcomes Costs of the overall project, including the replacement of the cooling system with absorption chiller and installation of the solar collector field were AUD $2 million ( 1.6 million). At this time, net annual savings are estimated to be $60,000 ( 40,000) in energy costs, as well as a greenhouse gas abatement of 1,400 tones CO 2 eq per year. EcoGen 2011 Clean Energy Industry Award The Echuca Regional Health Solar Chiller was nominated for an EcoGen 2011 Clean Energy Industry Award, under the Most Outstanding Large-Scale Clean Energy Project category due to being one of the most innovative and eco-friendly Australian projects in 2011.
Print this page Close window Solar HVAC System used absorption refrigeration Nevada desert 10 October 2013 The REEF House at The Desert Research Institute has adopted an adsorption chiller in its solar thermal HVAC system in Reno, Nevada. The House includes two solar thermal collector systems. An innovative monitoring system is used to indicate efficiencies as well as the amount of greenhouse gases offset by the use of solar thermal energy. The north campus of the Desert Research Institute (DRI), the environmental research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education features a Renewable Energy Experimental Facility (REEF) that hosts a solar thermal HVAC system, with an absorption chiller that operates using the hot water from two solar thermal collectors. 5 ton absorption chiller driven by solar energy The solar driven Yazaki WFC SC10 Absorption Chiller provides 5 tons of cooling capacity. It has the following properties: Two heat exchangers mounted directly beneath a furnace A cooling coil with the capability to remove 42,635 Btu/Hr from the air flow. This coil is driven by chilled water from the absorption chiller at 10 gpm and 45 F (7.2 C). A heating coil with the capability to provide 54,257 Btu/hr of heat with a flow rate of 8 gpm water at 180 F (82.2 C). In the system, hot water is pumped from the hot water storage tanks to either the absportion chiller for cooling or a heat exchanger/coil located in the house ductwork. Each array is plumbed to its own 120 gallon(454 litre) hot water storage tank. The two are kept separate to compare the performance of the two systems. The outlets of each tank are then plumbed together so they can be used together for heating and cooling of the building. The chiller used is most suited to systems that have a large cooling capacity, due to their cost and complexity compared to a standard electric air conditioning unit. Ground and roof type solar thermal collectors In the REEF house, two types of solar thermal collectors have been implemented into the project: one roof mounted and the other ground mounted. A 200 sq. ft. (18.6m 2 ) array of Viessman glycol based solar thermal collectors is ground mounted on the south side of the house. The racking system allows for manual adjustment from 10-62 C. The glycol based mixture heats water through a heat exchanger mounted in a control box. The 200 sq. ft. (18.6m 2 ) array mounted on the roof is made up of Sunvelope Solar collectors. These collectors use an envelope system that allows them to expand and contract with temperature change. These collectors can withstand freezing and boiling without the use of a drainback system. Innovative monitoring system and renewable power systems A National Instruments Field Point Unit is used to monitor temperatures and flow throughout the system. This real-time data is used to provide system and component efficiencies as well as the amount of greenhouse gases offset by the use of solar thermal energy. A custom economiser was built for the HVAC system to provide cooling, for times when the solar collectors are not hot enough to operate the absorption chiller. The economiser draws in outside air when the enthalpy outside is lower than the enthalpy inside. The electricity required to run the system is drawn from the facility s renewable power systems including PV and wind turbines with electrical storage in batteries and H 2 which can later be combusted in an internal combustion engine. 2014 R718.com - Managed by shecco