Solar heat in union centre ...

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34128, 14 April 1976, Page 20

Solar heat in union centre ...

The new Trades Union Centre, on the corner of Armagh and Madras Streets, is one of the few office buildings in New Zealand which is making- use of solar heating for its domestic hot water supply.

It is thought that it is only the second office block in Christchurch which is using the system. The modern six-storey building, which cost $700,000 and took 18 months to build, was officially opened yesterday by the secretary of the Canterbury Trades Council (Mr F. E. McNulty).

One of the main features of the building is its solar heating unit, which cost islooo. The unit was designed by Mr M. White, an i engineer with A. and T Burt Ltd.

The unit consists of six panels which sit on top of the building’s lift shaft. The total area catching the sun’s rays covers about 6.7 sq. m. "Water is circulated through the panels, which are made of copper plate and covered with glass. When the water reaches the required temperature it is pumped into the building’s hot water cylinder which holds 455 litres. The unit is linked to a supplementary electric sup-

ply so that it the sun does not come out or there is not [enough heat it can automatically cut in and continue the job of heating the water. I The unit is capable of generating heat up to 65deg. Mr White said.

The panels are expected to last the life of the building.

Mr White said the electricity charge for commercial premises was about five cents a unit and every time the solar heating system was used money would be saved. The building’s owners would soon recoup the cost of the system, he said. As well as heating domestic water a solar unit can be used for the full central

heating of homes, he said. One of the problems, however, is the size and cost of the unit but Mr White says that an office block is the ideal place to install solar panels because they inevitably have large flat roofs.

“The cost of the units is usually balanced .by the higher electricity charges the users would have to pay,” he said. Thirty trade unions use the building, which has a gross area of 1925 sq. metres.

When opening it, Mr McNulty said it signified the unity and strength of the trade union movement in Canterbury.