Southern California Gas Testing Solar Cooling Units
Southern California Gas company is conducting tests to see how efficiently the sun can be used to cool buildings. The utility based in Los Angelos has chosen two solar concentrators for the test, one from an Hawiian start up called Sopogy and the other from a U.K. based company called HelioDynamics.
The two products reflect incoming sunlight and concentrate it onto a pipe that heats water. The heated water is then used instead of electricity or gas to power an industrial absorption chiller, which in turn, creates cold air with the use of a compressor and heat exchanger.
The idea of using the sun to cool buildings has been considered an excellent application for using solar energy because the energy load produced by air conditioning corresponds with daylight hours. The concentrators will take up less space that what photovoltaic panels require to make electricity which will result in better efficiency.
These two concentrators were specifically chosen because they’re small enough to fit on the roof of an office building and are modular. Each of the units are capable of producing enough cool air to provide cooling for three average sized homes. The cost for air conditioning can be as much as half of the energy usage in commercial buildings. The utility company plans to conduct the tests over the next two years.