The principle of the integration of the solar plant into the heating distribution system of the building is show in Figure 1. In winter the produced heat of the solar system is provided to the thermally activated ceilings with a maximum capacity of 200 kW on a low temperature level of 50/30°C. If the solar system delivers e. g. in autumn and spring more than 200 kW, the heating energy is switched to a higher temperature level and connected to the main heating distribution system of the building for the rest of the day. In summer the heat is directly provided to the main heating distribution system, which supplies the adsorption chillers with the required heating energy.

Heating distribution Chilled distribution

Figure 1: Hydraulic scheme of the solar adsorption cooling plant (FESTO AG)

The installation of the solar plant is supported by the German government within the Solarthermie 2000plus program and the monitoring system was installed by the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg [1].