Solar Building

Last updated
Solar Building
Solar Building, Albuquerque NM.jpg
Solar Building, May 2010
Location213 Truman St. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates 35°04′51″N106°35′16″W / 35.08083°N 106.58778°W / 35.08083; -106.58778
Built1956
ArchitectStanley & Wright
NRHP reference No. 89001589 [1]
NMSRCP No.1171
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 10, 1989
Designated NMSRCPMay 17, 1985 [2]

The Solar Building, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was the world's first commercial building to be heated primarily by solar energy. [3] It was built in 1956 to house the engineering firm of Bridgers & Paxton, who were responsible for the heating system design. The novel building received widespread attention, with articles in national publications like Life and Popular Mechanics , and was the subject of a National Science Foundation-funded research project in the 1970s. It was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1985 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, only 33 years after it was built.

Contents

History

The firm of Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers was founded in 1951 by Frank Bridgers (1922–2005) [4] and Donald Paxton (1912–2007), [5] both of whom were interested in the potential applications of solar energy. [3] Initially operating out of a garage behind Bridgers' house, [6] the two men conceived a new office building for their firm which would include an experimental solar heating system. They believed such a system would not only save money, but would also allow them to collect valuable data for future projects. [7] In 1954, they were able to put some of their ideas into practice with an innovative heating and cooling system for the Simms Building, which took advantage of the building's south-facing glass curtain wall to provide solar heating in winter. However, additional heating or cooling was still required under most conditions. [8]

Bridgers and Paxton began serious design work on the Solar Building in early 1954, and it was constructed between March and August 1956. Stanley & Wright were the architects for the building. Its total cost was $58,500, of which the heating and cooling system made up about $15,000—roughly twice the cost of a conventional system. However, Bridgers and Paxton believed the reduced operating costs would save money in the long run. The novel building attracted considerable attention, receiving write-ups in a number of national publications including Architectural Forum , [7] Life , [9] Architectural Record , [10] Progressive Architecture, [11] and Popular Mechanics , [12] and directly inspired a number of subsequent active solar heating systems. [3]

Despite some minor problems, the building's heating system operated successfully for six years, even during the particularly cold and cloudy month of January 1957, which recorded only three sunny days. [13] However, it was not as economical as Bridgers and Paxton had hoped, mainly due to the extremely low cost of fuel at the time. When the building was expanded in 1962, the solar collector was abandoned in favor of a conventional boiler system, though the equipment was left intact for possible future use. [3] This decision paid off just a few years later, when the 1973 oil crisis caused a renewed interest in solar energy and brought fresh attention to the Solar Building. In early 1974, Penn State researcher Stanley Gilman received a National Science Foundation grant to restore the building's solar heating system and operate it as part of a multi-year field study intended to identify optimal design criteria for such systems. [14] Following the conclusion of the project, the solar heating system remained in use. [3]

Bridgers & Paxton eventually outgrew the building, moving to a new location in 1985. [6] The Solar Building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1985 [2] and the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The building was considered "exceptionally significant", justifying its inclusion in the National Register even though it was only 33 years old at the time. [3] [15]

Architecture

The Solar Building is a one-story, International Style building consisting of two main sections. The north wing, containing the main drafting room as well as the solar heating equipment, made up the main portion of the original building. It has an irregular quadrilateral cross-section with the roof and south wall both angled (at 20 and 30 degrees, respectively) in order to provide a high southern exposure for the solar collectors. The wing is framed by seven structural steel bents, spaced 18 feet (5.5 m) apart and filled in with wooden ceiling joists and masonry. The north wall has a narrow, continuous band of windows running just below the roofline which light the drafting room, while the street-facing eastern elevation is windowless brick. The south wing is a low, flat-roofed structure containing office space. It is partially faced with brick, marking the original extent of the building; it was later extended with an addition in 1962. The main entrance is positioned at the intersection of the two wings. [3]

Heating system

The Truman St. elevation of the building, showing the location of the solar collectors (now covered) Solar Building Albuquerque 2003 1.jpg
The Truman St. elevation of the building, showing the location of the solar collectors (now covered)

The building's active solar heating system employed an array of 56 solar thermal collectors with a total area of 800 square feet (74 m2). The array was positioned on a south-facing exterior wall which was angled at 30 degrees to the vertical in order to catch the maximum amount of winter sunlight. The collectors were custom-fabricated aluminum panels with built-in flow channels for water to pass through. The surface of each collector was coated with low-reflectivity black paint and a layer of glass to capture the maximum amount of thermal energy. [7] [10]

In sunny weather, water passing through the collectors would reach a maximum temperature of 140 °F (60 °C) before being deposited in a 6,000-gallon insulated underground tank which provided a hot water reserve for up to three days of cloudy weather. Under normal conditions (about 90% of an average heating season), [14] the water in the tank would be warm enough to directly heat the building by circulating it through radiant panels in the floor and ceiling. If the temperature in the tank dropped due to prolonged cloudy weather, a heat pump could be employed to maintain the hot water supply to the panels. The heat pump was a standard commercial water chiller unit, but with heating rather than cooling as its intended purpose—chilling the water in the tank and delivering the "waste" heat to the hot water stream. The heat pump could continue to function as long as the tank temperature remained above 35 °F (2 °C).

In summer, the system could also provide cooling by circulating cold water through the building rather than hot water. In this mode, the storage tank became a reservoir for cold water, which allowed the system to save energy in milder weather by storing heat during the day and releasing it at night when the outside temperatures were lower. Most of the time, the water in the tank could be kept cool using only an evaporative cooler. If the water in the tank got too warm, the heat pump would go back into operation in order to continue transferring heat from the cold water stream into the tank. It was also possible to operate in cooling mode during the day while storing hot water from the solar collectors and heat pump to heat the building at night. [14] [11]

Minor changes were made to the system during its operational life. One of the first problems that arose was corrosion of the collector panels, which originally had integral flow channels formed from two bonded sheets of aluminum. After leaks started to develop, the flow channels were replaced with copper tubing attached to the back of the panels. Gilman made additional modifications to the system in the 1970s, including changing the working fluid in the collector loop to ethylene glycol (in order to prevent freezing) and re-soldering the collector panels for better thermal contact. Gilman also installed an automated control system and upgraded the air handling equipment to allow individual temperature control for each office. Despite the modifications, the system remains mostly intact as originally designed. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the electric power grid, gas grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases, public roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passive solar building design</span> Architectural engineering that uses the Suns heat without electric or mechanical systems

In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heat pump</span> System that transfers heat from one space to another

A heat pump is a device that uses work to transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space by transferring thermal energy using a refrigeration cycle, cooling the cool space and warming the warm space. In cold weather a heat pump can move heat from the cool outdoors to warm a house; the pump may also be designed to move heat from the house to the warmer outdoors in warm weather. As they transfer heat rather than generating heat, they are more energy-efficient than other ways of heating a home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar thermal energy</span> Technology using sunlight for heat

Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water heating</span> Thermodynamic process that uses energy sources to heat water

Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar water heating</span> Use of sunlight for water heating with a solar thermal collector

Solar water heating (SWH) is heating water by sunlight, using a solar thermal collector. A variety of configurations are available at varying cost to provide solutions in different climates and latitudes. SWHs are widely used for residential and some industrial applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar thermal collector</span> Device that collects heat

A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. The term "solar collector" commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers or non water heating devices such as solar cooker, solar air heaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simms Building</span> Commercial offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal energy storage</span> Technologies to store thermal energy

Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with widely different technologies. Depending on the specific technology, it allows excess thermal energy to be stored and used hours, days, months later, at scales ranging from the individual process, building, multiuser-building, district, town, or region. Usage examples are the balancing of energy demand between daytime and nighttime, storing summer heat for winter heating, or winter cold for summer air conditioning. Storage media include water or ice-slush tanks, masses of native earth or bedrock accessed with heat exchangers by means of boreholes, deep aquifers contained between impermeable strata; shallow, lined pits filled with gravel and water and insulated at the top, as well as eutectic solutions and phase-change materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermosiphon</span> Method of heat exchange in which convection drives pumpless circulation

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Renewable heat is an application of renewable energy referring to the generation of heat from renewable sources; for example, feeding radiators with water warmed by focused solar radiation rather than by a fossil fuel boiler. Renewable heat technologies include renewable biofuels, solar heating, geothermal heating, heat pumps and heat exchangers. Insulation is almost always an important factor in how renewable heating is implemented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underfloor heating</span> Form of central heating and cooling

Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor. Heating is achieved by conduction, radiation and convection. Use of underfloor heating dates back to the Neoglacial and Neolithic periods.

Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES), also known as inter-seasonal thermal energy storage, is the storage of heat or cold for periods of up to several months. The thermal energy can be collected whenever it is available and be used whenever needed, such as in the opposing season. For example, heat from solar collectors or waste heat from air conditioning equipment can be gathered in hot months for space heating use when needed, including during winter months. Waste heat from industrial process can similarly be stored and be used much later or the natural cold of winter air can be stored for summertime air conditioning.

Solar air conditioning, or "solar-powered air conditioning", refers to any air conditioning (cooling) system that uses solar power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absorption heat pump</span> Heat pump driven by thermal energy

An absorption heat pump (AHP) is a heat pump driven by thermal energy such as combustion of natural gas, steam solar-heated water, air or geothermal-heated water differently from compression heat pumps that are driven by mechanical energy. AHPs are more complex and require larger units compared to compression heat pumps. In particular, the lower electricity demand of such heat pumps is related to the liquid pumping only. Their applications are restricted to those cases when electricity is extremely expensive or a large amount of unutilized heat at suitable temperatures is available and when the cooling or heating output has a greater value than heat input consumed. Absorption refrigerators also work on the same principle, but are not reversible and cannot serve as a heat source.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar combisystem</span> Solar collection system which provides heating and cooling

A solar combisystem provides both solar space heating and cooling as well as hot water from a common array of solar thermal collectors, usually backed up by an auxiliary non-solar heat source.

The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is a planned community in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, equipped with a central solar heating system and other energy efficient technologies. This heating system is the first of its kind in North America, although much larger systems have been built in northern Europe. The 52 homes in the community are heated with a solar district heating system that is charged with heat originating from solar collectors on the garage roofs and is enabled for year-round heating by underground seasonal thermal energy storage (STES).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector</span>

Photovoltaic thermal collectors, typically abbreviated as PVT collectors and also known as hybrid solar collectors, photovoltaic thermal solar collectors, PV/T collectors or solar cogeneration systems, are power generation technologies that convert solar radiation into usable thermal and electrical energy. PVT collectors combine photovoltaic solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity, with a solar thermal collector, which transfers the otherwise unused waste heat from the PV module to a heat transfer fluid. By combining electricity and heat generation within the same component, these technologies can reach a higher overall efficiency than solar photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal (T) alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar air heat</span> Solar thermal technology

Solar air heating is a solar thermal technology in which the energy from the sun, insolation, is captured by an absorbing medium and used to heat air. Solar air heating is a renewable energy heating technology used to heat or condition air for buildings or process heat applications. It is typically the most cost-effective out of all the solar technologies, especially in commercial and industrial applications, and it addresses the largest usage of building energy in heating climates, which is space heating and industrial process heating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Storage water heater</span> Thermodynamic device that uses energy to raise the temperature of water

A storage water heater, or a hot water system (HWS), is a domestic water heating appliance that uses a hot water storage tank to maximize water heating capacity and provide instantaneous delivery of hot water. Conventional storage water heaters use a variety of fuels, including natural gas, propane, fuel oil, and electricity. Less conventional water heating technologies, such as heat pump water heaters and solar water heaters, can also be categorized as storage water heaters.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "New Mexico State and National Registers". New Mexico Historic Preservation Commission. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Solar Building". National Park Service. October 10, 1989. Retrieved November 7, 2018. with 7 accompanying photos
  4. ↑ Logan, Paul (March 18, 2005). "Local Engineer Helped Build Solar Office Building". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Obituary: Donald Paxton". Albuquerque Journal. Obituary. October 28, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Metcalf, Richard (January 16, 2012). "Sustaining its mission". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 "Heating by sun power" (PDF). Architectural Forum. 105 (4): 176. October 1956. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Office building: Albuquerque, New Mexico" (PDF). Progressive Architecture. 36 (9): 104–109. September 1955. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Warm Winter Behind Glass". Life. Vol. 41, no. 25. December 17, 1956.
  10. 1 2 "Solar-heated office building" (PDF). Architectural Record. 120 (6): 202–203. December 1956. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Solar-Heated Office Building" (PDF). Progressive Architecture. 38 (3): 153–155. March 1957. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Albuquerque Solar Building Tests Radiant-Heat System". Popular Mechanics. 108 (5): 157. November 1957.
  13. ↑ "Ultra-Cloudy, Cool October Means Little to Solar-Heated Office Building". Albuquerque Journal. November 18, 1957. Retrieved November 7, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 3 "Solar Building" (PDF). Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Guidelines for Evaluating and Nominating Properties that Have Achieved Significance Within the Past Fifty Years". National Park Service. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
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