The new CST research building showing the south facing photovoltaic clad fa�ade
The Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) occupied a range of purpose built laboratories in October 2003. Current facilities and those to be developed over the coming year will enable detailed studies to be made into the energy efficiency and the thermal performance of buildings and building components and systems. A large temperature controlled double height laboratory allows realistic scale experiments to be performed under carefully controlled and well known conditions. Currently housing a large area calorimeter and a small internal test room chamber for characterizing respectively vacuum glazing and chilled ceilings using phase change material slurries, this laboratory is to be equipped with a new solar simulator to permit indoor testing of solar thermal, photovoltaic and glazing systems. Other laboratories are used for heat pump development, the production of advanced glazing, development of building integrated concentrating photovoltaic systems, detailed small scale optical and thermal performance characterisation of systems, and fluid flow and heat transfer measurement. The experimental facilities are to be complemented by a new multi-processor high performance computer system for simulation, modelling and data analysis.
The building is flat roofed with an unobstructed south facing aspect, providing a test site for the development and characterization of new solar thermal and photovoltaic systems under monitored real conditions. The south facing fa�ade of the building is equipped with a building integrated photovoltaic array which will be used to provide comparative performance data for a range of new building integrated photovoltaic concentrating systems developed at CST.
Contact: Professor Philip Eames, School of the Built Environment,
University of Ulster, Newtownabbey,
Co. Antrim BT37 0QB;
Tel: 02890 368244; Fax: 02890 368239;
E-mail
[email protected]
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