Toronto company develops SolarWall System for Olympic Village

July 28, 2008

Toronto-based Conserval Engineering Inc. announced that The Beijing Olympic Village is home to the company’s solar technology, the SolarWall photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) hybrid system.

Mounted on the roof of one of the central buildings, which will be a service centre for athletes during the Olympics, the SolarWall PV/T technology produces both electricity and heat energy from the same surface area, generating 200-300 per cent more energy than a conventional PV system.

As an added benefit, the SolarWall panels act as a racking system to the PV—removing the heat from the back of the modules and channeling it into the facility’s traditional heating system. The building is also home to a conventional SolarWall air heating system, which was integrated into the building’s front façade.

The project was done through the Canadian SolarWall office, with Conserval Engineering working in partnership with Natural Resources Canada and the Olympic Village developer.

“Conserval’s SolarWall is a great example of the practical and cost-effective clean energy technologies being developed by Canadian innovators,” said The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources. “The Beijing Olympic Games offer a tremendous opportunity to showcase this technology to a global audience, and the Government of Canada is proud to be a partner in making this demonstration possible.”

SolarWall technology has received commendation from both Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy and set the global standard for solar air heating in commercial and industrial buildings. It has been used in 30 countries around the world by private public sector organizations like the US Army, Government of Canada, NASA, Ford, Federal Express, Wal-Mart and 3M.
http://solarwall.com