Three Solar Applications

Recent Enermodal projects demonstrate how photovoltaic and solar thermal systems can be included in a building project in different ways — separate from or integral to the building.

• The PowerStream Head Office in Vaughan, north of Toronto, has a ground-mounted PV system with nine banks of 210 W panels with a total rated capacity of 17 kW. The system is grid-tied, eliminating the need for batteries. A dual-axis tracking system maximizes year round output. Three inverters are used to provide a three-phase grid connection.

• At the West Village residence in Hamilton, Ontario, the building has a 60-panel rooftop mounted solar thermal system with a 105 kW peak thermal output. It serves a nine-storey residence for over 1,300 students. The flat panel collectors operate on glycol with a flat plate heat exchanger heating large pre-heat storage tanks. A cistern is used as a waste heat dump if required to prevent glycol damage due to stagnation in high temperatures. (When heat exchange fluids get too hot they can start to break down.)

• On the Steelcare warehouse in Hamilton, transpired solar thermal collectors are used to provide ventilation air heating for the warehouse area. The ventilation air quantity required is relatively small in this unmanned portion of the facility that has daytime operating hours. The solar system provides all the ventilation air heating and more on all except the cloudiest of days. Space heating is needed year-round to ensure the dew point is as high as possible even in summer.