Research and practice: Solar-thermal air conditioning
Demands for greater thermal comfort coupled with architectural concepts featuring extensive glazing are leading to an increasing requirement for air conditioning in buildings. In 2003 a report entitled "Energy Efficiency and Certification of Central Air Conditioners" (EECCAC), drawn up for the Directorate-General Energy and Transport of the Commission of the European Union, forecast a five-fold increase in demand for air conditioners in the EU between 1990 and 2020. Since then this forecast has been revised significantly upwards. In Germany alone around 79,000 GWh/a goes into the artificial generation of cold, of which around 21,000 GWh/a is used for air conditioning in buildings. The amount of space being air conditioned is also increasing, not just in offices and industrial facilities, but more and more also in residential buildings. In the USA, for example, already 55 per cent of households have air conditioning; in Japan the figure is around 70 per cent.
