In Sun We Trust

Solar Energy as a Step towards the More Sustainable World We Desire You will never look at buildings in the same way again! Dare to expand your knowledge about something you never stop to think about!


Solar energy technologies, which include solar heating, solar thermal electricity and solar architecture, can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent problems the world now faces, thinks Associate Professor Miljana Horvat, PhD in Building Engineering by Concordia University, who will give an exciting lecture in the context of our Sustainability event.
In her research, Miljana focuses on the role of architecture as a key factor in the evolution and implementation of solar building design.

According to the International Energy Agency, the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have long-term global benefits, amongst which increasing energy security in those countries that use this inexhaustible resource, enhancing sustainability, reducing pollution, and lowering the costs of mitigating climate change.

Indeed, advanced solar architecture and energy-efficient urban planning methods can yield great benefits to the process of energy-saving and help to create a healthier and more sustainable urban environment. In her lecture, Miljana Horvat will present a creative reflection on the aforementioned issues, based both on practical experience and theoretical studies. Meanwhile, we decided to ask her a couple of questions, to serve as a brief introduction into this complicated, but exceptionally interesting topic.

Q: Why do you think it is important to focus with architecture in our pursuit of a more sustainable world?

Miljana Horvat: The International Energy Agency (www.iea.org) estimates that 40% of world's total energy consumption is used to build and operate buildings. I think this pretty much answers your question: if we want to reduce our energy consumption, we MUST look to doing it within the context of built environment and architecture plays a crucial role in it. In addition, the recast of Directive 2010/31 of the European Union requires that, as of 2020, all new buildings in the EU are Net Zero Energy Buildings, which means that buildings must produce as much energy as they consume.

Q: Sweden is not a very sunny country. Do you think solar energy is the best solution for renewable energy in countries with similar climate?

MH: There is no single "the best" solution in renewable energies. The true answer to this problem lies in using a combination of renewable resources, one or more of them, such as sun, wind, geothermy, in combination with a different method of building and, most importantly, a different way to behave as users. The first and the most significant step is to change our own behaviour: conservation is the most important step towards a sustainable world. In this context, the sun can play a significant contributing role in producing energy in buildings, both in producing electricity (through Photovoltaic cells) and heat for domestic hot water and space heating (through solar thermal systems). And then, if we design and build properly, we can achieve a lot through passive strategies, in which we utilize free sunlight for day-lighting and passive solar gains. This can work in Sweden, as we can harvest some energy even when it is overcast. Light reflected from snow is also a significant source that can be used by active solar systems.

Q: Please tell us a little bit about your upcoming lecture on the Sustainability Event.

MH: In my presentation, I will try to expand in more detail on these concepts that I mentioned in the two previous questions, as well as to show what each of us, as users of buildings, should know and look for in buildings that we spend our time in, so we can contribute to reducing our energy use and our carbon footprint.

We would like to thank our guest for this interview and invite all interested in sustainable sunshine to visit the lecture of Miljana Horvat, which will take place on 26th of April (13:00-14:00) at Orkanen (Nordenskiöldsgatan 10, Room C231).