Absolicon developing its own solar control unit

2012-06-01

Using an integrated solar control unit makes Absolicon's installations even more efficient.

Absolicon has built its own solar heating control unit to be able to offer its customers more efficient installations. Each plant has a website where energy production can be tracked day by day.

Making the most of the sun’s heat requires not just efficient solar collectors, but also pumps, valves and sensors that can guide the thermal energy to where it is supposed to go.

Traditionally, a solar heating system had simple pumps that started at full power when the sun shined and then stopped. But when the thermal energy is supposed to be fed into the district heating system or to power industrial processes, the temperature and flow need to be controlled with the utmost precision.

Initially, Absolicon purchased prefabricated solar control units, but the were expensive and lacked the functionality to precisely control the temperature.

“After speaking with a dozen suppliers, we realized that we had to develop our own standardized solar control unit to optimize functioning for our solar energy systems,” explains Stefan Jonsson, engineer at Absolicon and the manager responsible for the solar control unit project.

Absolicon’s solar heating control unit is based on the experiences from the large solar heating fields that have been constructed in Sweden in recent decades. It consists of a bottom section with two to four large, speed-controlled pumps, sensors, valves and heat exchangers, as well as a top section with all of the control electronics and electrical connections.

“By combining everything in one unit we can ‘plug and play’,” says Stefan Jonsson.

Everything is ready.  On the one side, it is just a question of connecting the pipes from the solar collector field and connecting the district heating network or an industrial process on the other side. Using the factory-built solar control unit, Absolicon can now offer customers fast  and efficient installation. Each installation has its own website where production can be tracked day by day and where the system can be monitored by Absolicon’s technicians.