Living in San Diego which bathes in sunshine year-long, it’s difficult to imagine a frozen landscape dotted with solar panels. ‘Cause ice and blazing sun don’t go together, right? Well, that’s the usual misconception, it seems. IceHotel in Sweden is the first-of-its-kind hotel that offers its guests a unique and memorable experience of staying in a space built almost entirely of ice. Now, the hotel has announced plans to have solar panels installed to keep it frosty all year round.
The world’s first IceHotel has been rebuilt every fall for the past 26 years. This amazing riverfront building is constructed of ice blocks and snow retrieved from one of Europe’s rare wild rivers, the Torne River, and it is open until spring when Mother Nature reclaims it.
However, Sweden’s largest solar company, Solkompaniet, and architect Hans Eek have partnered with the hotel and recently announced their plans to build solar retrofits. The PV panels will actually ensure the indoor temperature stays below freezing all year, keeping the hotel from melting.
With the annex completed, Icehotel will scale 1,207 square meters, with 20 suites, a bar, and an art gallery. The hotel has actually been described as an art gallery and a hotel with its striking suite designs.
The Swedish hotel is situated in Jukkasjärvi, a village almost 200 km away from the Arctic Circle. Every year artists and architects submit their design proposals for that year, so the hotel has never been the same.
The addition of solar panels was put forward by a Gothenburg design company PinPin Studio. The studio proposed that the hotel have a permanent section that would harness the extreme north phenomenon called “the midnight sun.” The midnight sun means the sun never sets; it only glides over the horizon and stays visible 24 hours a day. This phenomenon happens in the summer months north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle.
Hotel officials say the permanent section could be ready and open by the end of 2016.
Are you wondering how this phenomenon could be possible? The architect Hans Eek says it’s a simple principle. He explains it as the familiar “physics of Isaac Newton” that is normally applied to energy-efficient housing and intended to keep the cold out (or in California’s case, the heat), but they are reversing the process.
If you are a sunshine lover, you probably don’t find the idea of an entirely frozen hotel the least appealing. But this hotel’s example proves how versatile and flexible green energy is in its applications.
Do you want solar panels in Santee?
Would you like to keep the heat out of your Santee, San Diego property, just like this frozen hotel? If you are thinking of installing PV panels and you are looking for a reputable and trusted contractor, Semper Solaris is your solar company. We are a veteran-owned and operated business that stands for all-American values.
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