Investigation of an autonomous energy system for the ICELABPATAGONIA II in Karukinka Natural Park, Chile

"In the ICELABPatagonia project, different laboratories for Karukinka National Park in Chile were designed. The main objective of these laboratories was to provide shelter against the area’s tough weather conditions, specifically intended for small groups of researchers. The goal behind this de...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Alfonso, María Paula
Otros Autores: Wagner, Andreas
Formato: Tesis de maestría
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2017
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Acceso en línea:http://ri.itba.edu.ar/handle/123456789/464
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Descripción
Sumario:"In the ICELABPatagonia project, different laboratories for Karukinka National Park in Chile were designed. The main objective of these laboratories was to provide shelter against the area’s tough weather conditions, specifically intended for small groups of researchers. The goal behind this design was ensuring environmental preservation as a priority. In order to achieve this, the buildings were required to not produce waste during the construction stages and as well as post construction. In a second stage (the project ICELAB II), a design between five possible candidates was selected and later built. This thesis is meant to provide an in depth review of such design. It has been divided into two stages: The first step consists of taking advantage of natural lighting and reducing energy usage for heating. This was accomplished through the addition of new openings and the installation of insulation materials in walls, roofs, floors and windows. DesignBuilder software was used to simulate the alternate results of installing insulation materials, glazing, air tightness and opening percentages alternatives. As a result, when using fiber glass bats insulation the total heating loss was reduced by 60% from the original design. In addition, electrical demand was reduced by 0.8kWh/day as a result of installing new windows. Natural ventilation was considered as an alternative for cooling the building during summer to avoid overheating. The second step involves the design of an autonomous energy system using photovoltaic cells, consisting of a standalone system which provides the building with electricity without being connected to the grid or requiring a backup system. An 8 module (260kWp) system was selected together with a 4086Ah and 24V battery pack, to supply a 7.26kWh/day demand."