USA: Second Workshop for Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
The 2nd Workshop for Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration, taking place in Las Vegas on 2 February, will bring together top experts from Europe and North America – among them Christian Holter, SOLID (Austria), Steve Hunter, Vanir Energy (California/US), Daniel Mugnier, TECSOL (France), and Tom Lopp, Power Partners, Athens (Georgia/US).
Once again Lucio Mesquita, Thermosol Consulting, Canada, will hold a presentation about the progress of solar cooling technology and projects in North America. The event is sponsored by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and will take place together with the AHR Expo.
Space heating, cooling and water heating of buildings are responsible for a significant portion of the energy consumption in the US. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), space heating and cooling in the commercial sector accounts for 40% of the total energy consumption. In the residential sector, this number goes up to almost 70%. Meeting these demands by solar energy is a particularly attractive option because of the natural match between solar radiation availability and building cooling loads. However, although air-conditioning, with its more than 80 million installed units, is ubiquitous in the United States, there were only 22 solar cooling installations among these systems by the end of 2009 (see http://www.solarthermalworld.org/node/1378).
Over the last 10 years, the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has provided a framework for cooperative efforts in the development of solar cooling systems and applications. The workshop for Task 38, Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration, draws from the programme’s experience and examines the state-of-the-art in thermally driven solar cooling systems in North America. The workshop covers the following topics: open and closed cooling cycles (and equipment), experiences with systems currently operated in North America, and design guidelines.
More information:
http://www.qsolar.ca
