Drake Landing Solar Community

"Drake's Landing" redirects here. For the location where Sir Francis Drake landed in America, see New Albion § Location of landing.

The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is a planned community in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, equipped with a central solar heating system and other energy efficient technologies. This heating system is the first of its kind in North America, although much larger systems have been built in northern Europe. The 52 homes (few variation of size and style, with average above-grade floor area of 145m2) in the community are heated with a solar district heating system that is charged with heat originating from solar collectors on the garage roofs and is enabled for year-round heating by underground seasonal thermal energy storage (STES).[1]

The system was designed to model a way of addressing global warming and the burning of fossil fuels. The solar energy is captured by 800 solar thermal collectors[2] located on the roofs of all 52 houses' garages.[3] It is billed as the first solar powered subdivision in North America,[4] although its electricity and transportation needs are provided by conventional sources.

In 2012 the installation achieved a world record solar fraction of 97%; that is, providing that amount of the community's heating requirements with solar energy over a one-year time span.[5][6]

In 2015–2016 season the installation achieved a solar fraction of 100%.[7] This was achieved by the borehole thermal storage system (BTES) finally reaching high temperature after years of charging, as well as improving control methods, operating pumps at lower speed most of the time, reducing extra energy need as well using weather forecasts to optimize transfer of heat between different storage tanks and loops. During some other years, auxiliary gas heaters are used for a small fraction of the year to provide heat to a district loop. The systems operate at coefficient of performance of 30.

  1. ^ "Drake Landing Solar Community". Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  2. ^ Climate Change Central. "Case Study: Drake Landing". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
  3. ^ Natural Resources Canada. "Unique Community a Model for a Greener, Healthier Canada". Archived from the original on 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  4. ^ "North America's First Solar Powered Subdivision - Drake Landing". Town of Okotoks. Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  5. ^ "Canadian Solar Community Sets New World Record for Energy Efficiency and Innovation". Natural Resources Canada. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  6. ^ Wong, B.; Thornton, J. (2013). "Integrating Solar & Heat Pumps" (PDF). Presentation at Renewable Heat Workshop. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Drake Landing Solar Community: 10 Years of Operation" (PDF).