Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies
Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies
Minister
for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, officially
launched the solar testing facility at Mawson Lakes Campus on 17 May
2009. Professor Andrew Parfitt, Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of
Information Technology Engineering and the Environment welcomed Mr
Garrett, University personnel and industry leaders to the event.
Mr Garrett said: "This cutting-edge testing centre is now available
for industry use and to support the research and development of solar
hot water, solar heating systems and other solar technologies. We
now have an Australian facility that can encourage industry innovation
and improve our solar technologies, delivering better quality products
to Australians sooner.
This comes at an opportune time, with the Government's $3.9 billion Energy Efficient Homes Package set to inspire more than 300,000 households to install a solar hot water system, bolstering the solar hot water industry.
By contributing $410,000 towards the development of this testing centre, the Australian Government is investing in research facilities, helping to stimulate jobs and drive demand in the solar industry, which in turn is delivering a major component of the Energy Efficient Homes Package."
The SEISC's key focus is on solar hot water applications in Australia through independent testing, product development and monitoring services to support local manufacturers and suppliers of solar hot water systems.
At the testing facility, solar thermal technologies are put to the test in a range of ways including measuring thermal performance of solar collectors, checking the impact of rainfall and large hail stones, evaluating safety and performance during extended periods of no hot water draw-off and protection against freezing temperatures.
For a full description on SEISC testing facilities please download a copy of the flier (pdf file 266.17kb)
To read more about developments with solar power please visit these websites:
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,27574,25346624-2682,00.html
MORE solar panels will appear on prominent city buildings and UniSA will
test new solar technology for industry with new federal funding for
renewable energy.
http://www.energy-business-review.com/news/university_of_south_australia_launches_solar_testing_facility_090417
Australia's Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts,
Peter Garrett, has launched a solar testing facility at the
University of South Australia's Sustainable Energy Industry Support
Centre. Garrett said the Sustainable Energy Industry Support
Centre's key focus is on solar hot water applications in Australia
through independent testing, product development and monitoring
services to support local manufacturers and suppliers of solar hot
water systems.
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=403
Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett has announced over $1.2
million from the Australian Government to go towards installation of
solar panels at various locations around Adelaide.
Glass breakage assessment (foreground) where a steel ball is dropped
from increasing heights onto the centre of a collector until the
glazing breaks and verifying that large fragments of the broken
glazing are safely retained and (background) water ingress and
retention test unit that verifies that the collector is capable of
withstanding rain without retaining water.
(Plants supplied by Garden Grove Nursery)
Peter Garrett demonstrates the impact resistance test that is undertaken to verify that the collector's glazing is capable of withstanding large stone hailstorms. A 25.4mm steel ball is dropped onto the glazing of a collector from a height of 2.9 metres.
Peter Garrett, Professor Wasim Saman and Mark Butler inspecting a pyranometer that is utilised to measure solar radiation
