Solar canopy house
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This started out with a fix flat concrete canopy, then it evolved into the photovoltaic cell canopy that would swivel to follow the sun.
I do not know if it would be possible to build such a structure and the canopy would probably have to be segmented to prevent a wing effect with the wind.
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hey, cool design. but what kind of scale are we talking here? stick bryce in there and lets have a look.
about your question of wether the solar panels could folow the sun or not: i think that with the rate that technology is advancing; if not now, probably in the next couple of years.
btw, if you are wondering who "bryce" is, he's the 2-D guy thats snading near the origin point whenever you open SU. if you want him back in your model, just go to:
window>components. and when the box opens go to the drop down menu and select "people". you should find him just fine.wait a second! if you're this good at SU, you probably know who bryce is! oh well, someone new to SU will probly find this helpful.
good model!
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No particular scale cause it started out as just fun play with shapes.
I did reduce the ground floor height to ten ft and that re scaled the entire building.
I will post one with bryce or someone like him. -
By serrot at 2008-04-14
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WOW! that thing is HUGE! i was expecting it to be a little smaller. great model, once again.
if you pm me w/the SKP file, ill render it w/podium. -
thanks for the offer but i'm going to install podium on my mac soon so this will be one
of the first ones i will render. -
Nice model. I know I've seen (on documentaries) large solar dishes rotate to track the sun, but I wonder on yours if the amount of energy used to move it versus the amount of energy your panels would produce if it would be cost effective.
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Wouldn't the panels be balanced over the central axis, making the whole thing much easier to turn?
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They appear to be balanced over a central axis, Remus. But your looking at a hefty piece of equipment (especially to span that distance).
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Surely the heftiness wont matter too much as the opposite sides of the panels will balance each other out, to an extent at least.
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i agree with remus for the most part. i think that the solar panels would kind of balance themselves out, but only to a certain extent. it wouold take of energy, and let us remember that solar panels are not that efficient yet, but it would reduce the cost or running the place for sure.
there is a flaw w/the design though: the axle thats holding the panels seems to thin and flimsy. my sugestion would be to ad a sort of support post coming out of the roof to support the axle. ill do some quick drawings and get back to this
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I would be more worried about the amount of energy or locking mechanism needed for keeping those "sails" in place on a windy day.
Scott
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Indeed that could certainly be a problem scott, although you could probably eliminate a lot of the resistance by just putting the panels horizontal. Obviously ths wouldnt solve the problem, it would just go a bit of the way to reducing it.
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I install solar arrays for clients all the time. There are some great companies that design/engineer mounting systems. It would be a challenge to engineer this system but does not look like a "deal-breaker" to me. The cost might be however. Each of those panels cost about $800. You have an incredible abount on that model. We are in the sun belt (NM) and we typicaly install 1-2KW per home (6-12 panels) for customers that are willing to be conservative with their energy usage. These systems cost between $15-25k. It is important to adjust the angle throughout the year as the design would do. Tracking the sun across the sky on a daily basis (proposed model would not do) only adds about 7% gain during the winter months when power is most needed, so skip this feature if you ever consider it.
The design is very well done from an aesthetic standpoint. If you want to increase the passive solar performance you should look at the overhangs on the south side. There is a great free program for overhang calculations which I encourage every designer to look at:
http://www.susdesign.com/tools.php
I find the Window Overhang Annual Analysis to be very helpful designing windows that allow the sun to come in in the winter and block it in the summer.You should also consider how to insulate all that concrete, if you haven't already. We put R-50 in the roof of our solar homes and at least R-30 in the walls. The less windows on the North, East and West the better.
Keep at it, every well designed solar home helps us all. Thanks for thinking of our environment.
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Thank you for all the great input.
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