May 1, 2006—Arizona Public Service Company (APS) and Maricopa County have completed the first solar thermal heating and cooling system in Arizona. The system will reduce the overall energy costs at the Maricopa County Desert Outdoor Center at Lake Pleasant by more than 25 percent, says APS.
The solar thermal heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) system is a state-of-the-art, flat-plate system built by S.O.L.I.D. USA that will use hot water to heat and cool the educational facility. The technology was first used in the mid-1920s to make ice. The innovation is the marriage of that technology to solar energy.
According to APS, the concept of the system is simple: solar collectors will absorb heat from the sun and transfer that heat to a 1,000-gallon hot water storage tank. During the winter, hot water can be drawn from the tank to provide space heating at the center. During the summer, the hot water can be used to provide a heat source for an absorption chiller. In an absorption chiller, heat is used to evaporate a refrigerant and provide cooling to the center.
