idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
At the end of June, the first autonomous solar air-conditioning system in Germany will be taken officially into operation. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE designed the system, which will ensure that people have cool heads when they meet in the rooms of the IHK Südlicher Oberrhein (regional chamber of commerce) in Freiburg. The solar desiccant air-conditioning system draws on heat from 100 m2 solar air collectors as the driving energy. In summer, the system provides the heat needed for air-conditioning, whereas in winter it contributes to the space heating.
Although the advent of summer is welcomed widely, it is also the time when many people are plagued by overheated rooms. Fraunhofer ISE's solution to the problem is solar cooling: Heat from solar collectors is applied for cooling with the help of sorption processes. The brighter the sun shines, the better the process works. Supply and demand run in parallel.
"Desiccant cooling, with the low driving temperatures it needs, is an ideal application for solar heat or waste heat, e.g. from heat/electricity cogeneration", stated Carsten Hindenburg, the project leader at Fraunhofer ISE.
In the new system, outdoor air is dried by adsorbing water vapour on silica gel. Subsequent humidification of the dry air provides cool air for air conditioning via evaporative cooling. Finally, heat from the solar air collectors regenerates the silica gel for the next cooling cycle.
"We specialise in procedures which optimise the entire system, taking the solar heat into account, so that its energy efficiency is increased still further. In doing so, we always keep an eye on the cost aspect", explained Hindenburg. The IHK system is convincing proof: the system supplies 10,000 m3 of cool air per hour during peak operation, creating pleasant indoor conditions for up to 100 persons. In summer, it runs on solar energy alone, using only the heat from the 100 m2 solar air collectors, without needing any auxiliary heat for the cooling processes. The system does not even need a heat storage unit, which simplifies the systems technology appreciably.
The system has been financially supported by the European Union, the State of Baden-Württemberg and two companies, GWE Gesellschaft für wirtschaftliche Energieversorgung mbH & Co. KG in Freiburg and Dieter Bühler Ingenieurbüro GmbH in Bahlingen. It was installed after construction of the IHK building had been completed, when occupants had found that the temperatures were too high in the meeting rooms with their large windows.
The technology is suitable for commercial applications with an air exchange rate of 3000 m3/h or higher. The economic boundary conditions are particularly favourable in Mediterranean countries. In that region, the Fraunhofer scientists and engineers are advising the gas utility in Palermo on the air conditioning of an office building. There, it is also intended that solar heat will meet a major share of the summer cooling demand. In general, interest in environmentally friendly air-conditioning is growing world-wide. The Institute is currently leading a research project on the subject under the auspices of the International Energy Agency IEA.
Carsten Hindenburg is convinced that "solar air-conditioning has a large economic potential". "We can support industrial partners in many different ways to help them realise this potential." In addition to simulation calculations and investigations of materials, there is the new test stand for solar desiccant air-conditioning systems at Fraunhofer ISE. Different circuit variations or components such as sorption wheels or controllers can be developed and tested there under realistic conditions in combination with a solar system.
The working group on "Solar Cooling" at the Institute has its own web site with the address www.solar-cooling.de. Anyone interested in obtaining information about the technology at first hand is invited by Fraunhofer ISE to the Intersolar trade exhibition in Freiburg from 6th to 8th July, 2001. A model of a sorption wheel can be inspected at stand 212 in Hall 2. An industrial workshop on solar air-conditioning will also be offered on Friday, 6th July 2001. Registration and other details can be found under www.intersolar.de.
Information material and illustrations:
Fraunhofer ISE, Press and Public Relations
Tel. +49 (0) 7 61/45 88 -1 50, Fax. +49 (0) 7 61/45 88-3 42
e-mail: info@ise.fhg.de
Contact person for further information
Project leader:
Carsten Hindenburg, Fraunhofer ISE,
e-mail: carsten.hindenburg@ise.fhg.de
Fax: +49 (0) 7 61/45 88 - 1 00
http://www.solar-cooling.de
http://www.intersolar.de
solar air collectorfield
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Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Bauwesen / Architektur, Elektrotechnik, Energie
überregional
Forschungsergebnisse
Deutsch
solar air collectorfield
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