Cooling buildings with solar heat

Since 2001 in operation: Solar-powered, open, desiccant and evaporative cooling (DEC) of seminar rooms at the Southern Upper Rhine IHK, Freiburg. © Fraunhofer ISE

Reducing the electricity requirement for cooling and air conditioning

According to a report for the European Commission, the cooling demand in Europe will quadruple from 1990 to 2020. In some Mediterranean countries, more than half of the electricity produced is used for air conditioning in summer. Solar-based methods can particularly lower the electricity needs at peak load times and thus reduce costs.

Depending on the cooling and air conditioning task, different solar thermal assisted systems can be used when designing non-residential buildings. Experts differentiate between closed and open methods. Closed methods use ab- or adsorption chillers to provide chilled water that is used, for example, in chilled ceilings. Open sorption methods condition the air by reducing not only the temperature but by also ensuring a pleasant indoor air humidity.

In terms of the plant technology and collector system, the size, suitability and control of the components must be matched with one another. One advantage of solar thermal systems is that they can be flexibly combined with other heat sources such as industrial waste heat or cogeneration.

The authors of the BINE Themeninfo brochure are experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems and the Bavarian Centre for Applied Energy Research.

You found all informations about the BINE Themeninfo brochure entitled “Cooling with solar heat” here:

http://www.bine.info/en/publications/themeninfos/publikation/mit-solarer-waerme-…

Uwe Milles/Birgit Schneider
presse(at)bine.info

About BINE Information Service

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The BINE Information Service reports on energy research topics, such as new materials, systems and components, as well as innovative concepts and methods. The knowledge gained is incorporated into the implementation of new technologies in practice, because first-rate information provides a basis for pioneering decisions, whether in the planning of energy-optimised buildings, increasing the efficiency of industrial processes, or integrating renewable energy sources into existing systems.

About FIZ Karlsruhe

FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure is a not-for-profit organization with the public mission to make sci-tech information from all over the world publicly available and to provide related services in order to support the national and international transfer of knowledge and the promotion of innovation.
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FIZ Karlsruhe is a member of the Leibniz Association (WGL) which consists of 87 German research and infrastructure institutions.

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