Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and a motor to slowly rotate a large disk filled with desiccant. Thermal solar cool-
ing, on the other hand, uses solar thermal collectors to provide thermal energy to
drive thermally-driven chillers (usually adsorption or absorption chillers). In both
cases, solar panels are required to produce hot water at a relatively high tempera-
ture (needed to drive the process). Vacuum tubes are often preferred over flat panels
because of their higher efficiency. Development in this area is towards small scale
plants that are suitable for individual buildings (Grossman
2002
).
In addition to solar thermal technologies, an effective solution for space and
water heating is ground source heat pumps. GSHPs use the consistent temperature
of heat in the ground to provide a year-round source for space heating and in some
cases pre-heats water before it goes into a more conventional boiler. Closed-loop
or ground-coupled systems provide the most sustainable solution as they do not
foul groundwater like open-loop. The bottlenecks to continued increases in GSHP
adoption include equipment and component supply and a lack of adequate capa-
bility to install GSHP systems—particularly the underground component of the
system entailing a series of plastic pipes buried underground (Hughes
2008
). New
drilling and loop insertion technologies have been developed in the last few years
with the aim to facilitate installation and increase deployment (Yang et al.
2010
).
Example: CH
2
Melbourne, Australia
CH
2
is a visionary building leading the
way in sustainable design and facility management. It was commissioned by the
City of Melbourne to promote “green building” in oceanic climates (emphasis on
cooling). The result is a 10 storey office building for 540 employees which uses
74 % less energy than a standard public office building. The “smartness” and inno-
vation of the design process combined a clever mix of relatively current technolo-
gies to produce an extraordinary integrated result.
Some of the innovative solutions include:
• use of passive design solutions including integrated design of passive (ori-
entation, envelope etc.) and active (services) strategies, artificial heat stor-
age devices (PCM), integrated shading
+
natural light control/transfer and
development of hybrid ventilation system;
• adaptable and lexible design including internal it out (modular/movable
walls and finishes, modular services);
• materials: non-toxic, recyclable;
• construction systems: maximize use of prefabricated materials and precast
concrete sections;
• water conservation and storage: water-eficient ittings, rainwater harvesting,
re-use of grey water, sewer mining;
• building monitoring: automatic adjustment of the control unit, depending on
the behaviour of the user and energy consumption monitoring;
• solar thermal: hot water solar collectors;
• PV panels on the roof;
• engage stakeholders and users: web based forum for designers, architects,
developers, investors to share information, promote training courses, publi-
cations (Figs.
3.9
,
3.10
).
