For quotations and information, please email us at unitedpower@telus.net.

Article appearing in Electrical Line Magazine
March/April 1996, page 21™

North Shore Company Puts PV Power Tower Into Perspective

A look at the very near future in photovoltaic power generation for residential, commercial and industrial use is pictured above in what could be the typical setting of tomorrow.

A look at the future is projected with this PV "Power Tower" in an apartment building perspective. The tower is actually a 1/12 scale, 5' model, built by United Power Ltd. of North Vancouver. The light used for the demonstration was a standard 12 volt strobe light.

The tower's unique vertical design will provide a solar collection from sunrise to sunset, effectively doubling the solar time window. Conventional solar collectors are sloped to the sun angle using only the optimum solar window. The scale model, using fifty-two "mini solar panels" 3-1/2" x 2-1/2", develops 12-15 volts per side with frontal exposure to the sun, and an output of 30% to 40% on rear panels without using any artificial reflectance.

In actual usage, power generation of panels not directly exposed to the sun will be increased by the positioning of the tower to take advantage of reflection from adjacent buildings, ground slope, or reflective panels designed for that purpose. Solar reflectance can enhance the electrical power output by as much as 30%.

A full scale tower would have a power generating potential of 10 kw single or three-phase utility sine wave electrical service. As the tower occupies a very small footprint, multiple towers could provide expanded capacity for larger electrical loads.

Another feature which will be utilized for HVAC purposes is the generation of heat in the tower's inner core, developed by the solar heat transfer through the photovoltaic panels - an obvious winter application. Summer cooling will be achieved through a venturi effect with air flow controlled by bottom and top venting of the tower.

With fuel cells soon to become a serious source of electrical power generation, the "Power Tower" is an ideal structure to provide the primary power to create and maintain the hydrogen supply for fuel cell operation. The hydrogen supply cylinder would be contained inside the tower and the fuel cell in the base.

For quotations and information, please contact us at:

United Power Ltd.
198 Pemberton Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. Canada V7P 2R5
Phone: (604)983-2819 Fax: (604)983-2869 Email: unitedpower@telus.net

Copyright 1998 United Power Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from United Power Ltd.