Solar Air Conditioning

Sole proudly introduced the first commercial application of Solar Air-Conditioning. This installation uses flat plate collectors (instead of vacuum tube collectors used in the past for small demonstration projects) for central Air-Conditioning and heating at the new facilities of the Cosmetic Company "Gr. Sarantis S.A." in Viotia Greece. The Air-Conditioning space is 22,000m2 (130,000m3). A park of 2,700m2 selective flat plate solar collectors was manufactured in Greece by Sole S.A and installed for this purpose. The plant produces an impressive 2,400,000 BTU.

This is the largest installation in Greece and the second largest in the World.

During the summer, the collectors supplied water of 75 Deg C to the 2 "solar chillers" with a total capacity of 700KW. In winter the Solar collectors circulate hot water of 55 Deg C directly to the cosmetic Factory for heating. The cold (in summer) and hot (in winter) water goes to the air handling units (fan coils) installed in the building, providing virtually free cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. The whole operation of the system is controlled by the PLC (industrial computer) Information and Data for the solar plant is automatically transferred via telephone lines to the Sole's main computer in Greece. Here the system is monitored, checked and can even be altered if necessary.

The system went online August 15 1999. It was totally successful and the solar energy output by December 31 was measured and equal to 250,000 KWh. Taking into consideration that the total energy requirement for the cooling and heating of the cosmetic factory was 375,000 KWh, the solar system supplied an impressive 67% of the energy.

A great advantage of solar Air-Conditioning especially during the summer is that the higher the ambient temperature the more efficient the cooling. As the temperature of the water rises in the collectors the output of the solar chillers increases, there is a direct link between the higher temperatures and the cooling output. This is very significant for countries where the maximum demand for electricity coincides with the maximum solar radiation. The hotter the surrounding ambient temperature the greater demand for electricity but with the solar plant the system actually improves as the outside temperature rises.