Solar Air Conditioning System (SACS)

SACS converts 60-90% of solar energy for building cooling and heating at 4-6 times conversion efficiency over current solar photovoltaic technology. SACS provides an innovative approach integrating two mature technologies -- solar thermal collectors and absorption chillers.

Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources available to the world community. There are two major technological approaches capturing solar power: Solar thermal and photovoltaic . However, photovoltaic technology currently lacks efficiency and economy which prevents the wide adoption of solar energy for cooling and heating application. To address those barriers, we leveraged the existing solar thermal technology to design a novel, low cost, high efficient system utilizing solar energy for cooling and heating buildings to offset energy consumption in a sustainable manner. Development of this system is important because the energy consumption of heating and cooling for the building in the US accounts for about 60% of total building energy use.

Mission

MIT Solar Air Conditioning project will be a showcase of SACS. Our goals are to reduce energy consumption of buildings on campus, demonstrate and promote the technology, and illustrate MIT’s leadership in green energy development. The SACS demo project will also serve as an education program for both students and faculties at MIT.

Technology

SACS system channels the heated water both to drive the air-conditioning system and satisfy hot water demands for buildings. This integrated system will exceed alternative solutions in terms of the efficiency of solar energy conversion rate and energy savings. Compared to the expensive photovoltaic technology which has energy conversion efficiency of 10-20%, SACS guarantees a 60-90% conversion efficiency using solar thermal collector. By integrating the solar air conditioning system into new buildings or retrofitting HVAC system in existing buildings, the system can reduce primary energy consumption, mitigate our carbon emission impact, and establish a model for green building design on campus.

In the News & TV

SACS was the The College FilterForGood Eco-Challenge Prize winner, details please see the link:

http://www.filterforgood.com/ecochallenge.php

On TV
 

http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/video/?cid=110581

Contact us:

Team leader: Mike Lee   / mikelee at alum.mit.edu

Technical leader: Amine Berrada /  berrada at MIT.edu

Sponsors: 

Solar Engineering Solutions, Inc

Neil and Anna Rasmussen Foundation

National Instruments, Inc

MIT Facility

MIT Energy Initiative