AL-78-03-4 -- The El Camino Real Solar Cooling Demonstration Project

The El Camino Real Solar Cooling Demonstration Project is one of the first-cycle Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) non-residential demonstration projects. Construction of this project is expected to be complete in February 1978, with the first system operational data available shortly thereafter. This paper is a status report on this project, representing part of a planned effort to disseminate information to other designers at the earliest possible time.

The project entails conversion of an existing, open-plan elementary school building air-conditioning system to provide a large fraction of input energy from solar thermal collectors. Climatic conditions of the Southern California site and high internal loads result in a dominant cooling load which is well-matched to solar availability. Therefore, the existing hot water loop, driving absorption chillers and heating coils, is connected to the solar loop through a heat exchanger without storage. The solar loop is comprised of approximately 465 square meters (5,000 square feet) of tubular glass collectors, a heat rejector, and the load-side heat exchanger. Existing load-side loop components including the boiler are left unaltered except for controls.

The paper presents the final design as well as its evolution, discussing problems encountered and considerations leading to major design decisions. Analytical studies in support of the design including loads and simulation are also presented. Performance data presented are the results of simulation; site data and actual performance will be reported at a later date.

Citation: ASHRAE Transactions, Volume 84, Part 2, Albuquerque, NM



Product Code(s): D-AL-78-03-4