Is it a sure thing to make air conditioning using solar thermal?
Absorption chillers powered by natural gas are proven technology. Creating heat in the form of BTUs from solar thermal is also proven. This simply combines the two principles, Shore said. “Energy is energy. Once you have energy in one form it can be converted,” Shore said. What if it doesn’t work? A traditional air conditioning system, as well as traditional hot water and heating systems, are part of the building design as a backup in case the solar thermal system doesn’t work, or for cloudy days and at night. “No matter what, you have to do a back-up system that can handle the full load of the building,” said Freudenberger. If it doesn’t work, FLS will be the one in trouble. “They get paid based on the energy that’s there. If it doesn’t work, they don’t get paid,” said Nicklas. “You aren’t out anything. They are. It is not a matter of you taking any risk on this.” Are there any costs to HCC? There will be traditional back-up energy systems in the building, but those are part of the co
