Telefonica Will Use Solar Panels for Power

Telefonica's office complex situated in Madrid has developed a building concept that is meant to save a great amount of energy. Their solution comes in the shape of solar panels mounted on the entire surface of the building.

The need for saving energy and reducing pollution has pushed Telefonica into setting an example. The mobile telecommunication company will build an office complex that will have over 16,000 solar panels displayed on the building's rooftops. This technology will be capable of providing a total of 3GWh per year, with approximately 3 MW peak power.

This has high chances of proving to be an extremely profitable idea. Telefonica expects this to bring it an annual saving of 15 percent on the winter heating and a 34 percent reduction on air conditioning during summer.

The sun offers a powerful source of energy, through heat and light. The need for alternative energy sources has been increasing in the last years, along with the even deeper debates on finding ways to reduce damages made to the environment.

The solar roof will be built by PGIGrup and will have a total area of more than 20,000 square meters from the total of almost 60,000 square meters of the rooftop. The fa�ade of the office blocks is a double skin, which has the external glass hanging out from staggered glass fins.

Another innovative idea that has been brought for protecting the environment is that of collecting the rain water and then using it for irigating the grounds. The project manages to secure a water tight design of the internal skin, while at the same time allowing the glass fins anchors to pass through it. The solar panels will actually be placed in the external skin and will have to be able to withstand winds and the lateral load of the external skin.

Telefonica will invest more than 20 million euros in this project. Whether it proves to be worth the investment or not, we shall see.