Are you buying a Solar Water Heating System?
| ABB Leads the Way with its Longmeadow Facility |
| Written by Stephen Forder |
| Monday, 18 January 2010 07:46 |
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The ABB facility in Longmeadow, Johannesburg became operational earlier this year and is a good showcase for energy efficient and water efficient building design in the manufacturing sector. A 140 m2 solar thermal installation provides water to showers that service between 300 and 400 workers per day. The hot water system which was installed by Solar Heat Exchangers, a member of SESSA’s Solar Water Heating Division, has a total capacity of 10 000 litres and uses reclaimed waste heat from the air conditioning system to supplement the energy required to heat the water. Backup water heating, necessary on cloudy days when the solar component of the energy requirement is not sufficient to achieve the required heating levels, is achieved through a conventional electrical backup system. The building’s H-shaped configuration allows for optimal use of natural light within the building and electric lighting is fully automated, using presence detection technology to ensure that electric lighting is only delivered when needed. Furthermore, continuous monitoring of lighting levels and automated intensity adjustments ensure that electric lighting only supplements natural lighting when it is necessary. Shades over windows on the northern aspect of the building are designed to prevent too much solar energy from overheating the building in the summer months and thus reduce the air conditioning requirement. The air conditioning system runs on ABB’s own energy efficient drives and motors, allowing even greater energy savings. Together, all the energy savings measures result in a reduction of around 30% of the energy required to run a building of this nature. As well as the energy efficiency measures, ABB have employed a number of water saving measures too. These include large scale rainwater harvesting up to a capacity of 200 000 litres as well as the recycling of grey water through a process of anaerobic treatment onsite. The necessary infrastructure to facilitate waste separation at source and recycling of paper and plastics is also a green feature of the facility. Says Paulo Davids, Head of Projects at ABB, “although the initial capital outlay in implementing these efficiency measures is greater, payback will most certainly be achieved within ten years and possibly even shorter if projected energy price increases are taken into account”. Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge them
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