Surely there is no better learning environment than a building which generates, stores and releases solar energy within the fabric of that building; a building that is its own power station utilising advanced materials and concepts.
A visionary classroom – isn’t that the kind of place you’d like your offspring to be educated in?
Partners
Such a place now exists. This Active Classroom, as it is known, is at Swansea University’s SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre in Wales. SPECIFIC is an academic and industrial consortium led by Swansea University with BASF, NSG Pilkington, Tata Steel and Cardiff University as principal strategic partners.
But it takes more than major companies and academic institutions to bring a project to fruition. This is where the additional wide range of business and academic partners come in.
Victron Energy connections
Victron Energy are delighted that Solar Plants Ltd (Victron installers) and Wind & Sun Ltd (Victron distributors) are key partners in this project and it’s thanks to Ian Hewson of Solar Plants that we are aware of this project.
Solar Plants Ltd is an award winning family business that has quickly grown into one of UK’s largest independent domestic and commercial renewables installers, employing nearly 100 staff from three offices.
Ian Hewson, Off-grid Engineer for Solar Plants, said: “We are proud to be involved with this game-changing project, this classroom challenges commercial property design norms, and if successful will help shape the way buildings are designed going forward. Working with engineering giants TATA Steel and innovators SPECIFIC has been an incredible experience and has helped Solar Plants develop market leading knowledge in this new technology.”
The Active Classroom
The Active Classroom provides teaching space and a laboratory for Swansea University students at the new Bay Campus, as well as a building-scale development facility for SPECIFIC and its industry partners.
The building includes a solar air collector on the south façade which draws solar-heated air through tiny perforations to provide heating and warm water, whilst computers regulate the output according to weather forecasts and the number of people in the classroom.
Electricity generated by building integrated photovoltaic panels (which are laminated directly onto the roof covering) power an electrically heated floor coating.
Architect Jo Morgan said: “The SPECIFIC national innovation centre is very much focusing on the scale-up of research from the lab to buildings. Some of the technologies are new – such as the solar panels embedded onto the steel cladding – but much of our work is about integrating existing technologies into buildings in the most efficient ways and working with collaborative companies to help us to do this.”
Victron Energy equipment
Solar Plants’ off-grid team were involved with the design and installation of the solar to storage connectivity, working with Victron Energy products and 60 kWh of Aquion Salt Water battery technology.
- 3 x Quattro 8000VA 48V inverter/chargers
- 3 x Bluesolar MPPT 100A/150V charge controllers
- 1 x Victron Colour Control GX / Monitored on VRM portal
From left to right: Ian Hewson (Solar Plants Ltd), Richard Lewis (SPECIFIC), Daniel Crossland (Solar Plants Ltd), James Ford (Wind & Sun)
Conclusion
In researching this blog it soon became clear that SPECIFIC and their partners have created something very special. Their reach and diversity are quite incredible, so if you’d like to learn more then a good place to start is here: http://www.specific.eu.com/
However, as pointed out earlier it takes more than one organisation to make things happen. From a Victron Energy point of view many thanks to Ian Hewson of Solar Plants for making us aware of this project. By the same token, Ian would like to thank the following.
Joanna, Richard, Bruce & Ben from the SPECIFIC team
James Ford from Wind & Sun
Daniel Crossland of Solar Plants
Dr. Diana Montgomery, Chief Executive, SPECIFIC
If you too have an interesting project utilising Victron Energy products – do let us know.
John Rushworth
