Knowledge is Power: an overview of CSIRO Local Energy Systems
Posted: Wednesday, 27th February, 2013 Filed under: Energy efficiency, News & Media, Solar cooling | Tags: Electric Driveway, electric vehicles, energy, Local Energy Systems, science, technology Leave a comment »
The CSIRO Local Energy Systems team is a group of researchers who want to help you save energy – without noticing you’re doing so.
They’re developing new technologies for use at home or work which can decrease energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all while letting you maintain your lifestyle. The group’s projects include solar technologies – like the solar cooling systems we’ve mentioned here before – and other things, like the Electric Driveway project. That’s an ingenious system where your electric car can help your house cut its power bills and increase local grid stability.
Interest piqued? Read more here by downloading our super-nice new brochure.
New Solar Cooling partnership aims to save Australia big bucks
Posted: Thursday, 19th April, 2012 Filed under: News & Media, Solar cooling | Tags: ASI, Australian Solar Institute, solar cooling 1 Comment »
Can CSIRO’s ‘solar air-conditioning’ technology save Australia big bucks in electricity network upgrades? This is a question that’s being investigated by a new Solar Cooling partnership of which CSIRO is a member. Giles Parkinson has written about the project and its motivations recently on the RenewEconomy website:
The biggest strain on our electricity networks right now – and the cause for at least one third of the $45 billion network upgrades, and at least half of the recently announced tariff increases – are the “super” peak demand periods triggered when everyone returns home from work and flicks on their air conditioning.
In some states this might only occur for a few hours a year, more in others, but network operators have been at a loss to address the issue, apart from building more capacity. Other solutions have been offered – demand management being one of them – but what if the network operators could turn to solar-powered air conditioners as the solution to reduce peak load?
Click here to read Parkinson’s article, in which CSIRO engineer Dan Rowe speaks about our solar cooling technology (covered previously on this blog), its potentials, and the new partnership.
Did you get all the ‘energy stars’ you paid for? CSIRO’s helping to make sure.
Posted: Wednesday, 16th November, 2011 Filed under: Events, Solar cooling, Solar thermal | Tags: energy rating, HVAC, solar cooling Leave a comment »
We’re all familiar with the energy rating stickers that come on household appliances nowadays – the more stars, the more energy efficient the device. But how can you be sure that your new air conditioner lives up to the promises on its label?
This morning CSIRO officially opened the new National Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) Performance Test Facility, which is one of just a few facilities in Australia that are able to test and verify the performance of air conditioners and heaters. It’s a balanced ambient calorimeter in the form of a two-roomed, climate-controlled building at our Newcastle site, which uses one room to simulate a given outdoor climate and the other room to control and monitor conditions indoors. With this configuration, the facility can test the performance of heating and cooling devices under conditions from 2 to 45 degrees Celcius.
Dr Alex Wonhas, CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Director, opens the HVAC facility.
In addition to testing products and validating performance ratings, the facility will be used by CSIRO’s solar cooling group in the further development of their technology, which has been covered previously in this blog. On the roof are 16 square metres of flat-plate solar collectors for this purpose, and different types will also be added in the future.
Flat-plate solar collectors on the roof of the HVAC facility are part of a solar cooling system that will be tested under different climate conditions.
One feature of the facility that makes it perfect for testing solar heating and cooling is that the ‘outdoor’ conditions can be changed throughout the day to mirror real weather variations. The control system can choose temperature and humidity patterns that are typical of any given location in Australia.
When you consider that air conditioning and heating accounts for 22% of all electricity use in Australia (and 7% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions), you can see why it’s important to ensure that our current systems are performing efficiently – and to develop new technologies that use the emissions-free energy from the sun.
Guests at the opening inspect the facility.
For more information on the National HVAC Performance Test Facility, click here or here.
Your lifestyle of the future – thanks to CSIRO energy research
Posted: Thursday, 27th October, 2011 Filed under: News & Media, Solar cooling, Solar Field 2, Solar photovoltaics, Solar thermal, SolarGas | Tags: ECOS Leave a comment »ECOS magazine has just published an article describing how the energy research we’re doing today could soon become part of your everyday life. In addition to talking about our solar work, it mentions our other fields of endeavour – such as the clothing we’re developing that could one day use the movement of your body to charge your phone, or the UltraBattery that could power your car and act as an extra back-up supply for your house. Read the article here.
A photo taken in Solar Field 2 that was used in the ECOS article. That's yours truly in the centre - and before you ask, that thing I'm holding is a reflectometer used for measuring mirrors, and not (as it might seem at first glance) a mug of tea.
Using the sun’s heat to keep us cool
Posted: Friday, 10th June, 2011 Filed under: News & Media, Solar cooling Leave a comment »Did you know it’s possible to use the sun’s heat on your rooftop to air-condition your house – without using electricity?
Using heat to make things colder sounds counter-intuitive, but this is exactly what CSIRO’s Solar Cooling technology can do. Researchers here at the Energy Technology Centre have developed a unit that collects solar thermal energy from rooftop panels on a house, and then uses it to produce a cool stream of air via evaporation.
Journalist Giles Parkinson has written an article about this project for the Climate Spectator following his recent visit to our Newcastle site. In ‘A chilling future for solar power’ he describes the Solar Cooling project, and explains the benefits of a technology that could reduce our reliance on grid-based electricity for keeping cool on scorching summer days.
If you’re interested in more information about CSIRO’s Solar Cooling project, please visit the project website. You can also learn more about the technology at the Australian Solar Cooling Interest Group’s website at http://www.ausscig.org.
This cooling coil is part of CSIRO's Climate Control Test Facility, where it is used to test solar cooling components.
