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SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.
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Advances in energy sources, cost factors, accessibility & maintaince. Discusses 2 solar buildings.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Advances in energy sources, cost factors, accessibility & maintaince. Discusses 2 solar buildings.

Paper Introduction:
It is probable to assume that one day in the near future, much of the world’s electricity will be generated by solar energy. Sunlight is decidedly advantageous over fossil fuels as an energy source in three significant ways; it is abundant, long-lasting, and nonpolluting. However, today the primary challenge with solar energy hinges upon cost effectiveness. Until solar energy can be made economical for businesses and private citizens, other fuel sources will retain the inside track that they have held for centuries. Fortunately, solar energy technology has made great strides in recent years, culminating in buildings such as the Four Times Square Building in New York City- a building which is its own freestanding, environmentally friendly electric utility. Photovoltaic panels, gas fired absorption H-vac systems, high-

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Buildings such as the Four Times Square pay homage to those that havecome before them. What makes a building green?"; these questions guide Foster'sarchitectural philosophy(www.architectureweek.com, 2 , p. A primary objective of Foster's has been to create a structure inwhich sunlight is a key player. "Invisible Energy." Discover. Cost concerns and the quest to incorporate solar energy into large-scale buildings have been historically common. In spite ofthese advances in solar technology, conventional energy sources aretraditional; they are slightly more cost effective, easy to access, andeasy to maintain. Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 2 , 2 : www.architectureweek.com. N1.2). Norman Foster,regarded as an architectural visionary, has in the Shanghai Bank executedhis plan to achieve harmony between a man-made structure and the naturalenvironment. N1.2). Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 2 , 2 : www.greatbuildings.com."Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters." Big Buildings. Until recently, buildingssuch as the Shanghai Bank have been viewed as long-term investments, ladenwith exceptionally high initial costs and yet still promising down-the-roadreturns. In order for solar energy to become the primary energysource, it must improve in three areas: its cost of manufacturing must comedown even more, it must achieve a higher rate of conversion efficiency, andit must be more stable. Solar electricity costs have come down to an average of 2 cents perkilowatt-hour. Foster, when approaching a design, has made a habit of askinghimself and the community the following questions: "How do our buildingscommunicate with the planet? However,today the primary challenge with solar energy hinges upon costeffectiveness. In contrast, in very sunny cities(such as Los Angeles), anequivalent flow of conventional electricity during daylight hours can costas much as 28 cents. It is probable to assume that one day in the near future, much of theworld's electricity will be generated by solar energy. And last, stabilityof solar panels must be achieved: solar panels must retain their originalconversion efficiency capability for years after their manufacture (Inc.,1998, p. Foster's attempt to circumvent the pitfalls of the average officebuilding, though noble, did cause some concern as the Shanghai Bank was indevelopment. Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 2 , 2 : www.fosterandpartners.com."Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank." Great Buildings Online. Oct 1999 v2 i1 p. 36). Should the solar energy industry achieve these three things, the powerof sunlight would surpass the power of conventional energy sources,becoming the most viable option for power in buildings as great as the FourTimes Square Building in New York City and as small as a private home inthe third world. Norman Foster, in 1979, was faced with the task of submitting aproposal for "the best bank in the world"(www.geocities.com, 2 ). Photovoltaic panels, gas fired absorption H-vacsystems, high-efficiency variable speed pumps, motors, and fans, and highperformance glass curtainwalls all come together in the Four Times SquareBuilding to create an attractive, efficient, and non-polluting testimony tothe power and practicality of solar energy(Brown, 1999, p. "Conversion efficiency" concerns the amount of sunlight that hitsa panel that can be converted to electricity: solar energy companies mustbecome even more efficient in this capacity as well. The bank exterior consists of a combination of steel framing andtransparent panels, which provides high visibility and a capacity to absorbdaylight in abundance. 66. One such building is the Shanghai Bank in Hong Kong,designed and built by Norman Foster in the early 8 s. Clearly, Norman Fosters vision of a "green building" is encapsulatedwell in the Shanghai Bank. 37). Claimed to have cost more money than any other building ofthe decade to erect, the Shanghai Bank received a fair share of negativepublicity as it neared its completion in the mid8 s(www.greatbuildings.com, 2 ). However, this vision did not come without aprice. Andyet today, freestanding energy sources have become cost effective- not onlyin the long term, but in the short term as well(Brown, 1999, p. How do they reduce energy or use recyclablematerials? 36."Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank." Foster and Partners. Unfortunately, solar energy buildings are not the norm. N1.2). 36). Theresult was the Shanghai Bank, which today symbolizes a significantevolutionary step- not in banking- but in the architecture of solar energy. N1.2). And today, with respect tosolar energy, it appears that the price of progress has gone down. June, 1998 v2 n8 pg. The Shanghai Bank has a stratified tower,which delineates what Foster calls "villages in the sky"; the wholebuilding is lifted off of the ground to create a space beneath that may beused by the public(www.architectureweek.com, 2 , p. Foster, in erecting one of the most expensive buildings ever constructed,has demonstrated that progress has a price. Ultimately, the Shanghai Bankutilized dramatic exoskeleton trusses, an interior atrium, and an escalatorentry through a glazed atrium floor to serve theseends(www.greatbuildings.com, 2 ). The staggeredprofile of the Shanghai Bank creates interior spaces of varying width anddepth, and allows for many garden terraces(www.fosterandpartners.com,2 ). 66). Works CitedBrown, Kathryn. Insulation costs, lighting costs- these for example arepleasingly low in massive building that utilize sunlight efficiently. And of course, in the quest for solar energy, earlystructures such as the Shanghai Bank in Hong Kong illustrate that sunlight,when utilized properly, is not an ugly alternative. N1.2."Why the Buzz?" Inc. Until solar energy can be made economical for businessesand private citizens, other fuel sources will retain the inside track thatthey have held for centuries. Pg. The cost of manufacturing principle is self-explanatory: solar energy companies must become even more efficient atproducing solar energy conversion apparatuses so as to reduce manufacturingyields. Twenty years ago, electricity generated by solar energy was costingmore than one hundred dollars per watt by the time it was installed andproducing power (more than twelve times the average cost today); thus,solar energy was truly only suitable for the most cost-insensitive ofprojects (Inc., 1998, p. Sunlight isdecidedly advantageous over fossil fuels as an energy source in threesignificant ways; it is abundant, long-lasting, and nonpolluting. Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 22, 2 : www.geocities.com."Norman Foster: Analog and Digital Ecology." Architecture Week. For Norman Foster, the Shanghai Banktherefore concentrated primarily on how the building might be made to meetthe ground in an accommodating way, and how green space might be introducedto an urban environment such as an office building(www.architectureweek.com, 2 , p. As a result, the Shanghai bank is more insulatedthan many other buildings of its type- its lush greenery and itsmanipulation of solar energy allow for the costs of insulation to decreasesignificantly(www.architecture.com, 2 , p. Fortunately, solar energy technology has made great strides in recentyears, culminating in buildings such as the Four Times Square Building inNew York City- a building which is its own freestanding, environmentallyfriendly electric utility. 66). Add to this the fact that the manufacture of glasspanes lined with transparent solar cells are almost as cheap to produce asconventional glass, and the case for the solar-energy building becomespotent in the short-term as well as in the long(Brown, 2 , p.

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