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The National University of Saint Agustine (UNSA) will have the only building powered by solar energy in Peru

June 13, 2019

Purdue Professors William Hutzel, Mechanical Engineering and Mark Zimpfer, Polytechnic Institute are leading the project Net Energy Zero with faculty from UNSA to take advantage of Arequipa's sunny weather to create building powered by solar energy. The investigators form both universities are collaborating through the Arequipa- Nexus Institute with the goal of improving the quality of natural resources of the region Arequipa.

The project is designed to provide energy from December to March, when there are cloudy days and the rainy season starts. The idea is to construct a building for the university and four apartments with photovolatic panels to receive the solar energy.

The buildings can be very efficient and it can produce all its annual energy. There will be 128 solar panels of 300 watts each one they will provide 43 kilowatts, generating so many quantity of energy, which they will supply during the day to the buildings of Food Engineering, Administration and Materials. Pedro Flores, professor form UNSA, explained that this building will be the only one in the country with the above mentioned characteristics. In the National University of Engineerings there is a prototype, but that only generates 10 kilowatts to supply to only one apartment of the building.

According to Pedro Flores, UNSA mechanical engineer and specialist in renewable energy, the approach to  this project had to change several times during last year due to lack of funds for the construction. The new Environmental engineering building, not only it will feed on solar panels, but also will have Bio-Pared, which the  walls of this building will be provided with a series of (vegetable) plants to improve the quality of the interior air of the building and to purify it.

Next, the researchers plan to install meteorological stations in the south of Peru and use the information acquired to improve the maping of resources. The Univeristy of Saint Agustine might have an active roll helping to place the meteorological stations and providing safety after the meteorological stations are installed, and helping to analyze the information that would be collected”, added the specialist in sustainable and efficient constructions.

Read the full estory at: https://elpueblo.com.pe/unsa-contara-con-el-unico-edificio-en-peru-que-funcione-con-energia-solar/

 

 

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