Promoting Solar Thermal Design: The
Mechanical Engineering Building At The
University Of New Mexico
Author(s)
A. A. Mammoli, P. Vorobieff & D. Menicucci
Abstract
Thermal conditioning of buildings accounts for about half of the energy use in
industrialized countries. Thus there is a considerable incentive to use renewable
energy, especially solar, to heat and cool buildings. For small residential applications,
‘passive’ designs often suffice to cover most needs, however for larger,
institutional buildings more technological ‘active’ measures are often required to
provide thermal comfort. The Mechanical Engineering building at the University
of New Mexico is an example of the latter class of building, in which a thermal
solar panel array in combination with an absorption chiller and various energy
saving measures results in a substantial reduction of energy requirements. At the
same time, the building serves as an educational facility and a research laboratory
for training future engineers in the field of renewables. The design of the building
is presented, both in terms of its educational purpose and its energy saving
measures. The performance of the building is also discussed.
1 Introduction
There is now widespread consensus in the scientific community that human activity
(burning of fossil fuels) has already influenced Earth’s climate [1], and that
severe consequences are likely to result unless corrective action is taken [2]. At
the same time, fossil fuel reserves are dwindling, with possibly disastrous effects,
based on historical experience [3]. Despite this, political action to alleviate these
Keywords
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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