CIS Tower, United Kingdom
*Image from skyscrapernews.com
The CIS tower in Manchester, UK was built in 1962. It may look like any other skyscraper from afar, but if you look closely, the blue parts of the building are solar panels! Yes, 7,000 of them.
It was originally coated in 14,000,000 mosaic tiles, but after 40 years, they were replaced with something even better - solar panels!
The panels generate 180,000 units of electricity each year, enough energy to make 9,000,000 cups of tea.
The Gherkin
*Image from skyscrapernews.com
Situated in London city is the glass coated Gherkin, also known as 30 St Mary Axe and the Swiss Re Building. Other than its impressive look, the Gherkin impress by reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions by half of a standard building of its size.
How is the Gherkin energy efficient?
- Insulation -A natural insulation is created from the use of natural ventilation from gaps between each floor. This creates a giant double glazing effect.
- Passive solar heating - The insulation effects enable shafts in the building to draw out warm air during summer and warm the building in the winter.
- Low lighting cost - Sunlight is passed through the building, keeping lighting costs low.
The interesting thing about the Gherkin is the only piece of curved glass on entire building is at the very top - a lens-shaped cap.
PS20 Solar Power Tower
*image from www.ens-newswire.com
This is the world's largest solar power tower. Located at the Solucar Platform near Seville in Spain, the PS20 has a generating capacity of 20 megawatts. This is enough energy to power 10,000 homes!
The field around the PS20 comprise of 1,255 mirrored heliostats, which reflects solar radiation to the receiver on top of a 531 feet-high tower.
12,000 tons of greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, will be avoided from the operation of PS20.
Sanyo Solar Ark
*Image from http://sanyo.com/solarark/en/
What can one do with factory reject solar panels? Make it into an ark!
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