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Construction Tech Review | Tuesday, May 11, 2021
my-PV leverages photovoltaic power for thermal building component activation.
FREMONT, CA: Solar company my-PV has developed a solar-power system using thermal concrete-core activation in commercial buildings: An electric underfloor heating system releases solar energy as heat to the building foundation. my-PV utilizes this storage concept and is saving operating costs.
Since photovoltaic systems do not always generate the same amount of electricity and commercial buildings do not always need full heating power, buildings utilizing solar-electric power require sufficient storage mass for surplus energy from PV. Due to its increased mass density, concrete is good for heat storage. The solid construction element absorbs heat and provides it again with a delay. This means that power does not have to be fed into the grid.
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my-PV's concept offers an electric underfloor heating system to transfer energy to the foundation concrete. This way, solar power is only converted into heat where it is required, directly on the floor. AC-THOR 9s power managers from my-PV regulate the heating energy and are infinitely variable from 0 to 100 percent heating power. Since there is no demand for hydraulic storage tanks and distribution pipes, the financial and material demand for solar-electric heating technology is lower than for water- and air-operated systems. Solar-electric heat generation is also silent and maintenance-free.
my-PV is deploying the concept for the first time in its new headquarter building in Sierning, Upper Austria. A 100 kW PV system on the roof generates enough power to be stored by power-based 40-kilowatt electric heating wires in the foundation and upper floor. The heating load of the low-energy house developed with lightweight timber is much lower than 40 kW. Still, the excess energy can be stored by the construction element activation and created again later.
The costs for water and electricity for the commercial building with a floor area of 858 square meters are predicted to be around 2,100 euros. This is 67 percent less than conventional heating technology. Running a commercial building of this size at a low cost is a novelty.
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