Ventilation system shines

MX (Sydney)
29/08/2006 Page: 5

A University of New South Wales researcher has developed a solar-powered high-rise office ventilation system.

Designer Simon Shun said his ventilation fans were driven by solar and wind power and were designed to automatically switch to electricity on nights when there is no breeze.

This ensures that the building gets adequate ventilation and meets the ventilation standards legally required for health, safety and comfort Shun said. "The challenge was to design a system that uses clean energy to the maximum possible effect. Our device has a smart switching module that selects mains electricity as a back-up power source.

A test building will trial the device over the next six months. A CSR Business Unit has already expressed interest in producing the devices if the trial is successful.