Kyoto University, Osaka Gas Test Air-Conditioner Running on Wood Pellets, Solar Heat

Copyright Osaka Gas Co.

At its Uji campus, Kyoto University has partnered Osaka Gas Co. to introduce Japan's first air-conditioning system that runs on wood pellets and solar heat, two renewable energies. On June 16, 2011, the university announced that the partners started testing the system.

A joint team has developed an air-conditioning system, installed on the North 4 building on campus, which combines a wood pellet-burning chiller and solar energy chiller. (A chiller uses vapor compression to remove heat from a liquid.) The former performs cooling and warming using heat obtained by burning wood pellets; the latter conducts air-conditioning using solar heat.

The system primarily uses solar heat, and uses wood pellets when solar is not available due to weather conditions and other reasons, or when the solar heat does not meet air-conditioning requirements. When necessary, the system also uses natural gas for automatic backup. With the combined functions the renewable energies are expected to cover about 45 percent of the power required for the total system, in order to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 119 tons per year compared to conventional systems.

This air-conditioning system design also helps to improve energy security bv using multiple energy sources including renewable energy. The joint team will also study effective uses of burned wood pellet residues, such as for making fertilizers, and other applications as well as further CO2 reduction potential.

An Interactive Webcast with Japan's Prime Minister on Renewable Energy Policy: A First for Japan
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/031068.html

Posted: 2011/09/10 06:00:15 AM