Potencial solar en techumbres de los edificios del Campus Central de la Universidad de Cuenca y sus implicancias arquitectónicas

Abstract

Climate change and global warming have been a consequence of the production of energy through fossil fuels throughout all these years. Therefore, there is a need to include renewable energy systems in buildings and urban contexts. Ecuador, like other developing countries, is in a process of increasing energy consumption, and the use of renewable energy systems focuses primarily on hydroelectric plants, which cause environmental damage, despite the fact that the climatic conditions of equatorial Andean cities have adequate characteristics to achieve a significant margin of self-generation in situ. Involving educational institutions in the use of renewable energies can create experiential learning opportunities for future professionals and citizens For the aforementioned reasons, this work aims to determine the solar potential of the roofs of the buildings of the central campus of the University of Cuenca. To this end, it was proposed to use photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies on the roofs to achieve maximum energy production and to analyze the levels of architectural integration. To this end, data on energy demand was collected from monthly electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, and diesel consumption sheets. Then the location and the current state of the buildings’ skirts and flat roofs were analyzed; then, with the help of BIM technology, the theoretical occupancy area of the solar technologies was obtained, then the energy production that could be achieved with the radiation measured in 2019 was simulated by means of computer tools, and finally the levels of architectural integration were determined. The central campus of the University of Cuenca in 2019 consumed 1,776,136.84kWh, in addition, the Center for Recreation and Sports of the University of Cuenca (CREDU) recorded a consumption of 43,100.20 kg of GLP and 3,045.79 gallons of Diesel in the same year which is equivalent to 554,509.00kWh so it is e22stimated that a total of 871.77 t of CO2 is generated. The results obtained show that it is possible to self-supply 96.03% of the energy demand with 3,077 photovoltaic panels of 400WP and 125 solar collectors, distributed in 13 buildings occupying 25.03% of the total roof area, with regard to the levels of architectural integration, an overlapping that is related in size and appearance with the roofs is achiev.