Solar Panels on Skyscrapers in Toronto?

[Made In Canada]

I was looking at the Ritz Carlton sloped roof from Queens Quay and Lower Spadina at the Spadina streetcar stop going north to the subway station this morning and saw what looked to be solar panels ontop of the Ritz Carlton roof towards the sun (south).

Don't know if it is the right forum or place for this thread but if indeed the Ritz does have a huge solar panel to help out with energy costs could it help out within construction these days in Toronto?

Would it make sence to make the solar panel line from morning (east/south east) until noon (south) and until sundown (south west/west) and install panels on all buildings under construction from now on in?

Lets say Scotia Plaza for example from rooftop until 48th floor on the east side if it were to go through the same recladding as FCP?

How much power could be generated?

 

[maestro]

Seriously? Re-clad Scotia with solar panels? I recycle. I clog my low flow toilet on a weekly basis. I have little hair so the shower head doesn't affect me. However, what you are suggesting is taking environmentalism way, way over the line. I'd slap the screen if a knew I could also connect with the back of your head.

 

[UrbanAffair]

Seriously? Re-clad Scotia with solar panels? I recycle. I clog my low flow toilet on a weekly basis. I have little hair so the shower head doesn't affect me. However, what you are suggesting is taking environmentalism way, way over the line. I'd slap the screen if a knew I could also connect with the back of your head.

That last line seems unnessesary. Anway, why is it such a bad idea, especially as they make solar panals in many colours and textures and shapes from what Ive seen. Ive seen roof shingles that are solar energy capturing, which seems pretty cool. Not that scotia really needs a reclad at this point...

 

[grey]

I saw a program on NOVA ScienceNOW about Google headquarters being powered using solar panels (artificial photosynthesis technology has actually surpassed the ability of plants at this point) and storing the energy in large batteries. The program continued with someone who had managed to create batteries for industrial applications using carbon nanotubes made from reclaimed plastic bags (and no rare metals).

Recladding Scotia Plaza is a bit extreme, but it's ridiculous that we're not using this kind of technology everywhere immediately.

 

[Made In Canada]

Seriously? Re-clad Scotia with solar panels? I recycle. I clog my low flow toilet on a weekly basis. I have little hair so the shower head doesn't affect me. However, what you are suggesting is taking environmentalism way, way over the line. I'd slap the screen if a knew I could also connect with the back of your head.

Wow do you have to be such a prick? I was just putting it out there...

 

[doug]

Google headquarters being powered using solar panels (artificial photosynthesis technology has actually surpassed the ability of plants at this point)

Google is using photovoltaic cells, nothing to do with photosynthesis.

 

[grey]

Google is using photovoltaic cells, nothing to do with photosynthesis.

Sorry, there was also something on the show about photoelectrochemical cell tech. Probably got the two confused.

 

[Bruvyman]

Seriously? Re-clad Scotia with solar panels? I recycle. I clog my low flow toilet on a weekly basis. I have little hair so the shower head doesn't affect me. However, what you are suggesting is taking environmentalism way, way over the line. I'd slap the screen if a knew I could also connect with the back of your head.

In what way is that "taking environmentalism way, way over the line"? If there was a practical and economically feasible way to do it, why not? Why jump all over the guy for opening up a discussion that, while probably fantasy today, could be reality down the road?

I would suggest that you were the one who took something way, way over the line... and that would be internet douchebaggery.

 

[Automation Gallery]

Wind Power is another option..
Brookfield Properties of Canada..just built the Strata condo tower in London

The first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines now in London, the Strata tower

London has yet another architectural marvel to brag about. The Strata will be the world’s first skyscraper to have built in wind turbines. Taking the concept of green sustainable architecture to a level above, the Strata tower, nicknamed “the Razor” uses a three wind turbines that will help meet 8% of its total energy needs. Standing 148 meters tall in the London horizon, this building was developed and contracted by Brookfield Europe. The 42 storey structure pops its head above all the other buildings in its vicinity, due to which it can effectively make use of the 35 mph wind speed. Special care was taken in its designing in order to make use of the Venturi effect created by nearby buildings that helps force wind through the turbines at higher speeds.
With a production rate of 50MWh of power annually, this building sure makes a eco-friendly statement in the architectural world.
http://www.greenlaunches.com/archit...d-turbines-now-in-london-the-strata-tower.php


Plans unveiled for world’s tallest tower in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Royal family has unveiled plans to construct the world's tallest building, Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, said to be one mile high.

The 275-floor Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia will be 1.6km tall and will be twice the height of the world's current tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The tower will include hotels, offices, luxury apartments and a shopping centre. It will also feature 12 million cubic square feet of interior space, which is about 12 times more than Canary Wharf in East London. It will be five times higher than the Shard of Glass in south London, which will be Britain’s tallest building post completion in 2012.
It will feature a balancing pendulum structure in its top to prevent it from toppling over. When the project was first announced in 2007, the architecture firm mentioned that the structure will feature wind-detecting sensors to direct stabilising aileron-like fins which will run along the length of the tower's frame to control resonant motion and drift.

The skyscraper will also be designed to be sustainable with a low environmental impact. It will be equipped with wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, heliostats and sewage treatment facilities.

It is being financed by the Saudi Royal Family-owned Kingdom Holding Company, which is the country's largest company. The Kingdom Holding Company will construct an entire city around the skyscraper instead of constructing the tower in the centre of the city. An 8.9-square-mile city will be built in the costal area of Jeddah, which can accommodate 80,000 people and a further million visitors to the tower.

Kingdom Tower is expected to cost £12 billion ($19.6 billion) to construct and it will take 12 minutes to reach the top in a lift.
http://home.worldinteriordesignnetw..._worlds_tallest_tower_in_saudi_arabia_110413/

 

[taal]

There's actually a building just north of the 401 on Yonge with a little wind turbine on top of it!! So the article above is wrong we were the first !

 

[dlam]

There's actually a building just north of the 401 on Yonge with a little wind turbine on top of it!! So the article above is wrong we were the first !

building integrated wind turbine =/= rooftop mounted wind turbine.

but doesn't the Bahrain WTC count as building integrated wind turbine?

 

[Redroom Studios]

I saw a program on NOVA ScienceNOW about Google headquarters being powered using solar panels (artificial photosynthesis technology has actually surpassed the ability of plants at this point) and storing the energy in large batteries. The program continued with someone who had managed to create batteries for industrial applications using carbon nanotubes made from reclaimed plastic bags (and no rare metals).

Recladding Scotia Plaza is a bit extreme, but it's ridiculous that we're not using this kind of technology everywhere immediately.

I've been watching that entire series (its fascinating!) and saw the episode you are refering to. The technology they are developing is mind boggling and even though they try to present it in a way that is easy to understand for the common person, I still end up struggling to understand how a lot of it works. But that is beside the point - the technology is available and the applications are known. Seeing these advances actually makes me hopeful for our future. The problem of why we are not using them is probably tied to the fact that oil companies are the largest lobbyist group in the world. If some of these energy companies diversified their profiles instead of trying to eliminate all competition to oil we might be in better shape. And if we had a federal government who promoted progressive energy policy rather than handing out corporate welfare to oil companies we might be in better shape. Canada is falling behind other countries because of our government's regressive energy policy. Yes, it has long perplexed me why every commerical development didnt incorporate solar or wind systems in their buildings... its such a missed opportunity.

 

[grey]

Yeah, it's basically the same forces that kept electric cars from taking off in the last century, and (in an unrelated industry) why the FDA won't admit that sugar causes obesity and regulate it. It's powerful lobby groups, plus the perception jeapordizing millions of traditional jobs in favour of unfamiliar green sector technology jobs. I think it will have to come with a generational shift because it doesn't seem feasible to re-train a large, aging labourforce. I think the best bet is government incentives to push people/industries in the right direction. But then somehow we're evil socialists. Gravy! Birth certificates!

 

[vz64]

While I agree that the powerful lobby groups (acting on the behalf of big oil industry corps.) hinder (somewhat) the development and the implementation of alternative energy, I doubt it is the main problem... I think human apathy, inertia, and short-term thinking is the main reason behind slow adoption of these technologies. Look at private construction: how many rooftop solar panels you see on new houses? I hardly see any despite huge incentives that the MicroFit program provides... A typical cost of installing 3KW residential MicroFit system (around $25K) could be easily accommodated by saving on décor of a typical mcmansion construction (around $500K)… and the system would pay back at least 10% ROI!

 

[CanadianNational]

I don't see any reason why solar panels could not be used where opaque or blocked glass is currently used on skyscrapers - usually on the outside of floorplates, support columns and, occasionally, utilities.

The James Cooper Mansion condo is a skyscraper that actually has less glass on it than it looks like from a distance - a lot of dark exterior cladding is metal, not windows. I suspect the windows were shrunk from floor-to-ceiling to either reduce heating and cooling costs, or because the cost of the glass was expensive. In a building like this, with so much blank surface area, it's be interesting to see what solar panels might contribute.