The Drake Landing Solar Community is the first community to be completely solar powered for heating in North America. It is located within the town limits of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. This development provides a working example of how simple living a green lifestyle truly is.
There are over 800 solar panels on garage roofs, responsible for the production of 1.5 mega-watts of thermal power during the summer. They supply heat to the district heating system. The entire system meets 90% of the annual heating and hot water needs of the community’s residents.[1]
The community has 52 homes and has installed multiple solar panels on the roofs of the homes and garages.
Glycol solution runs through an insulated piping system and connects the solar panels together.
The solar panels work during the day by absorbing energy during the day and work to heat the glycol solution.
The glycol solution then travels through the piping system and reaches an underground heat exchanger located in the community’s centralized Energy centre.
The heat is then transferred from the heat exchanger to water that is stored in a temporary storage tank. The glycol solution returns to the solar collector system.
The Energy Centre is equipped with temporary thermal storage tanks and long-term thermal storage tanks.
References
- Canadian community first to go completely solar, TG Daily, July 25, 2008
External links
- Community Solar Power, Green Building Elements, June 27, 2008
