Creamer Media's Engineering News
Summary
It could be easy to overlook the impact that loadshedding has on universities and other institutions of higher learning.However, to do that would be to deny the ramifications of power interruptions have on our country’s current, and especially future, ability to meet the needs of the labour market and advance innovation and the economy.
One of the most important amenities within any student residence environment is the hot water required for ablution and laundry facilities. And while photovoltaics with battery back-up can alleviate some of the above electrical and lighting issues it is not practical for providing reliable hot water to high density accommodation, like in student residences. The positive news is that solutions are available to address this need.
A notable example is the Wits Junction district heating project installed in 2019 by the Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN) and through its partners, the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) and the University of Stellenbosch.
The installation combines solar, co-generation and gas heating technologies to supply 1 103 students living in 14 student residence buildings with hot water from one centralised plant room. The 600 m2 solar-heating plant with its 10 m2 Austrian collectors meets the district’s entire hot water demand, amounting to an average of 94 000 litres per day, and 60 000L of hot water storage. Since the system was commissioned, hot-water- related complaints have reduced by 98%, while the university is set to save an estimated R40 million over the next 20 years. The system showcases an impressive solar peak performance of 420 kWth and is expected to realise a CO2 reduction of 1 950 ton (based on a 25-year lifetime). After less than a year of system operation (August 2018 – May 2019) more than R1 million had been saved and this continues today, meaning that the return on the system investment over its lifetime can roughly be calculated at 160%.
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