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UNIT 5: THE SUSTAINABLE SITING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF TOURISM FACILITIES<br />

181<br />

Mounting PV Cells<br />

PV only works when the sun is shining, so optimal exposure is crucial. The<br />

panels should face north when in the southern hemisphere and south when in the<br />

northern hemisphere, at about the angle of the latitude. The minimum angle is<br />

20° from the north horizon (this will also enable the panels to be cleaned when it<br />

rains). For large installations it may be wise to invest in a tracker, which will move<br />

the panels according to sun patterns throughout the day.<br />

solar<br />

photovoltaic<br />

modules<br />

The main components of the PV system<br />

Source: Renewable Energy: Power for<br />

a Sustainable Future<br />

S<br />

E<br />

C<br />

T<br />

I<br />

O<br />

N<br />

3<br />

charge controller<br />

DC<br />

DC<br />

AC<br />

battery<br />

Key<br />

DC<br />

inverter<br />

AC = alternating current<br />

DC = direct current<br />

AC<br />

AC to<br />

consumers<br />

back-up diesel generator<br />

Example of Good Practice<br />

On Coconut Island, near Australia, the only electricity available to the 135<br />

inhabitants came from diesel generators scattered throughout the community.<br />

But since 1987 a hybrid PV-diesel generating system has provided power at a<br />

level of quality and availability that rivals or exceeds that on the mainland.<br />

Geothermal Heat Pumps<br />

The Earth absorbs almost 50% of all solar energy, and maintains relatively cinstant<br />

temperatures of 50°F to 70°F depending on geographic location. GHP work by using<br />

the earth’s interior as a heat resource in the winter and a heat sink in the summer.<br />

The pumps are located inside the building, with its essential components - sealed<br />

plastic pipes - installed vertically in boreholes (30-100m deep) or horizontally in<br />

trenches, in which water or a refrigerant solution circulates. In winter, the heat<br />

pump extracts heat from the hot water or steam in the interior of the earth, brings<br />

it up through the water or antifreeze liquid that circulates inside the plastic pipes<br />

sunk in the ground, and transfers it inside the building. In summer, the pumps<br />

move heat from the building into the earth. The same plastic loop is used as in

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