Showing papers by "Noam Lior published in 1989"

Retrofit for Solar Heating and Cooling

Abstract: The retrofit of existing buildings and processes to solar heating of service hot water and of space, and for cooling, has a very important potential for conservation of depletable energy resources and for the reduction of pollution: there are almost 100 million buildings in the U.S., the annual fuel conservation potential is of the order of four quads (about 1/3 of the annual oil imports into the U.S.), and there is an annual pollution reduction potential of about 500 million tons per year. Having its origins in the discussions and conclusions of the unpublished USDOE Solar Heating and Cooling R&D Branch Solar Retrofit Review Meeting, and in subsequent research and review by the author, this paper addresses the principal issues related to such retrofit: typical retrofit systems, the housing stock suitable for retrofit, the depletable energy saving and pollution reduction potential, impact on customers, the technical aspects, economics, financing, barriers and incentives, system demonstrations and performance monitoring, education and technology transfer, and RandD needs. Conclusions and recommendations for a comprehensive solar retrofit program are given. One of the major recommendations is for the commencement of a government-encouraged initiative for the development of a solar retrofit program.