The Renewable Energies Chair – University of Évora (CER-UÉ, Portuguese acronym) moved, this October, to a new headquarters at the Edifício Ário Lobo de Azevedo, in the Polo da Mitra. This change, which required some technical interventions in the building, allowed CER-UÉ to implement a set of measures aligned with the principles of sustainability based on the use of solar energy.
Except for nighttime, Edifício Ário Lobo de Azevedo is now powered by renewable electricity, through a photovoltaic system on its roof (BAPV - Building Attached Photovoltaics), with technology of half-cell photovoltaic modules, with 13 kWp of installed power. This technology of half-cell photovoltaic modules is very recent, it allows to minimize mechanical stress and resistive losses, improving energy production, efficiency, and its durability. The system was designed and installed with the support of CER-UÉ, which designed its technical specifications and performed the commissioning tests, in addition to optimizing the integration in the building's rooftop.
This intervention is part of a broader project for the conversion of buildings at the University of Évora (UÉ), with a view to the use of renewable energies, in which CER-UÉ has participated. In this project, a photovoltaic system was also implemented in the Colégio dos Regentes Agrícolas building, with design and optimization of the system on the building's roof, and design of the technical clauses of the specifications, with an installed power of 20 kWp with the same technology. This contract also includes two solar thermal systems on the roofs of each building to produce domestic hot water with hot water storage tanks.
The Edifício Ário Lobo de Azevedo was designed by the architect Vítor Figueiredo and was nominated for the Mies Van Der Rohe Award (Contemporary Architecture) in 1996. Ário Lobo de Azevedo, who is honored with the name given to the building where it is now based CER-UÉ, was dean of the University of Évora, between 1974 and 1987.
