ecofriend.com

Self-shading solar Devonshire Building

self shading solar devonshire building
This Devonshire Building in the heart of University of Newcastle’s campus, is a milestone six-storey structure, because, it is a state-of-the-art construction embracing recycled materials, renewable energy and solar power.

devonshire buildings large roof

On the Devonshire Building’s large roof, solar panels (which generate about 25 kW of power) and rainwater harvest system are installed. The rain is collected and then fed into a 20,000 liter underground tank. When the rainwater tank overfills, it overflows to a 40,000 liter geothermal tank to replenish the water for a heat sink that acts as a cooling source for the building systems. A very self-sufficient building indeed!
shades on its south facing facade

The most amazing facet of this solar building is that the shades on its south facing facade automatically open and close, and thus help to monitor the amount of sunlight entering the windows. This intelligent building also takes into account the time of day and season and manages the heating and the cooling too.

Levolux were brought in to provide solar shading to the glazed southern elevation of the building.

Designed by the Dewjoc architecture firm, it is very aptly a home to the Institute for Research and Sustainability at the University of Newcastle.

Way to go! I hope more such pioneering environment friendly buildings are constructed in the future. Think about it, isn’t it a great way to reduce our carbon footprint?

Image

Source

Today's Top Articles:

Scroll to Top