While the sun has a spotty appearance record over Burnaby this summer, the regional government is making the most of the rays that do filter down.
Metro Vancouver is collecting solar power on the roof of its headquarters in Burnaby to heat water used in the building.
Metro Vancouver's head office is one of the first highrise buildings in the region with a solar heating system, according to a press release from the regional government.
"This pilot project will help demonstrate whether the use of a solar hot water system in a commercial high rise building is an effective technology to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions," said Joe Trasolini, chair of Metro Vancouver's environment and energy committee, in the release. "Metro Vancouver is committed to minimize energy use and maximize energy recovery from its operations."
Glass tubes on the roof of the 20-storey commercial highrise building collect solar heat, even during cloudy and rainy days on the rain-drenched southwest coast of British Columbia, the release added. The tubes were chosen instead of panels because the building is on a hill, in the path of high winds.
The tubes are each two metres long and sit in a rack, anchored to concrete, with open space between them, allowing the wind to flow around the tubes.
Tubes and flat panels have similar energy efficiency ratings, but tubes capture more energy during the winter.
On sunny days, the tubes at the head office regularly reach temperatures of 55 degrees Celsius while on cold and overcast days, the system produces temperatures of 35 degrees, according to the release.
The captured solar heat is stored in water tanks and added as needed to the building's existing hot water system, and used at washroom sinks on each floor of the building.
The solar hot water system started operating in December 2009.
Metro Vancouver has since analyzed the data collected in 2010 as part of this pilot project.
Although hot water use in the building in 2010 was the same as in 2009, natural gas use dropped by 25 per cent, the release stated.
This resulted in an estimated greenhouse gas reduction of 4.5 tonnes -about the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by driving 18,000 kilometres in a mid-size car.
The solar heating system had a measured energy yield of 14,125 kilowatt hours in 2010.
Additional monitoring points are being set up to collect more data and identify potential improvements to generate, collect and store more solar energy. www.twitter.com/janayafe
