SSIC: The super energy efficient SSIC building

THE Vodafone Site Solution Innovation Centre (SSIC) is said to be the greenest building in the southern hemisphere. It houses techies who are working on solutions for the future in the fields of construction, design, electrical and mechanical engineering and wet services. The SSIC is the first 6 Star Green Star SA accredited building in South Africa.

The aesthetic principle was to create a harmonious and seamless integration between the physical building and the surrounding landscape. The SSIC is a sustainable living building envisaged as a functioning showcase for innovative techniques and design.

The Greenest Building in the Southern Hemisphere

The SSIC is said to be the greenest building in the southern hemisphere and houses techies who are working on solutions for the future (image: http://www.glh.co.za)

The design has a narrow floor plate surrounding a central open air courtyard with a rainwater pond and wetland. The building maximises the use of daylight using performance glass and motorised blinds.

Fresh air is cooled via a gabion or thermal rock store constructed below the building before it is released into the office space through vents. This functions as a natural air-conditioner. A solar absorption chiller provides radiant cooling or warming through water pumped through a thermally activated slab. The chiller also provides cooled air to the office space, so no water-based heat rejection systems are used.

Installed on the roof are 292 photovoltaic panels delivering 230kWh of solar energy to the building – twice the amount of energy required. The balance is fed back into the Vodacom campus, creating a zero-rated energy building. Motion light detection sensors are used to minimise energy use.

For efficient water consumption, grey water is treated through the constructed wetland and then reused for irrigation and toilet flushing. Rainwater (harvested from the roof) is stored in the pond in the courtyard and in tanks below the building.

The structural elements of the building have been constructed using material excavated from the building site. The structural columns are a combination of steel and eucalyptus gumpoles while the roof structure is an exposed timber beam system. The structural elements are designed for disassembly and 90% of all the steel used has an average post-consumer recycled content of 60%.

The Vodafone Site Solution Innovation Centre and its landscaped garden is a great example of green and sustainable living. It also illustrates how big corporations such as Vodacom can operate in such an eco-friendly manner. The SSIC will be open to visitors and demonstrates the innovative techniques and systems utilised to create a low energy and sustainable construction solution.

• Visit the SSIC website to learn more about it and view the gallery.

GLOBAL WARMING: And the Absorption Chiller

"We must protect ourselves from the Global Warming! Top scientists in Colorado believe that Global Warming will strike two days before the day after tomorrow!"
– South Park

I was walking past the fruit and vegetable section in a supermarket one winter’s day when I felt a powerful gush of warm air seduce my face. The seducer was a household fan that had a heated coil in its centre which heated the air to a remarkable extent.

I soon learned that these new heating devices are very considerate on their energy usage and weren’t badly priced either. However, our coldest winter yet is thawing to a close, and it won’t be long before we go to lengths to keep cool.

Cooling off in the Global Warming:
Contemporary air-conditioning systems are not only heavy energy consumers but also have an utter disregard for the ozone layer. At full volume a household air-con farts out enough greenhouse gases to chock a small elephant.

Thank the pope ScienceDaily have recently reported that scientists from Madrid have produced a solar-powered air-conditioner that is far more environmentally friendly than previous cooling systems. It is said to use a reduced amount of greenhouse gases and does not harm the ozone layer in any way.

Global warming and the "Absorption Chiller"
Known as an "absorption chiller" the device makes use of solar and residual heat as an energy source. For the science people, the technology combines the use of lithium bromide solution with a reduction in the use of water, which supposedly damages the ozone layer and contributes towards the greenhouse effect.

More technically speaking, the absorption mechanism is capable of producing cold water at temperatures ranging from 7º C to 18º C when the sweating thermometer on the wall displays temperatures between 33º C and 43º C.

A look to the future:
The new cooling system seems to have arrived at a good time too. Last year 191 countries were involved in a signed agreement to avoid the use of ozone depleting substances as well as set a 25% consumption limit by 2010 (as compared to 1996).

By 2020 it will become law for all developed countries to replace all HCFC refrigerants, such as those used in air-conditioners, with green substitutes. No mention of developing countries however. I guess the ‘First World’ is quite content to continue selling the cheaper, more lethal air-conditioners to the ‘Third World’ forgetting that we all share the air that we breathe...

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