In an effort to go green, the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan has revealed that the “Green Hills 1st Building”, which is a spanking new piece of construction in the Ookayama Campus of the university, will feature an installation of 650kW photovoltaic (PV) panels on the south and west sides, in addition to the roof of the building just like a wall. Not only that, the building itself will come with a range of power-generating/saving facilities to help keep the earth greener than usual. Other implementations to aid the environmentally friendly effort would be the 100kW of phosphoric-acid fuel cells (PAFCs), a refrigerator that uses the high-temperature exhaust heat of the PAFCs, a desiccant air conditioner which relies on the low-temperature exhaust heat of the PAFCs, and heat pump that relies on soil heat.
The entire length and height of the wall is known as the Solar-wall Envelope, according to the university, measuring around 100m and 30m, respectively. Not only does it generate electricity from sunlight, it also doubles up as a form of external insulation, blocking solar heat in the process. It is said that the wall is capable of providing for almost all of the electricity that is required for the building, helping reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 60% or more.