The British Library, home to priceless artifacts like Shakespeare’s First Folio, the Magna Carta, and manuscripts by literary giants like Dickens and Brontë, has unveiled a new solar thermal system to safeguard its treasures, Bloomberg reports.
This innovative technology not only ensures the optimal temperature and humidity levels for preserving these irreplaceable documents, but also reduces the library’s carbon footprint by a significant 55 metric tons annually.
The £1.5 million ($2 million) installation, the largest of its kind in the UK, is a testament to the library’s commitment to both conservation and sustainability. It utilizes the power of the sun to generate 216 megawatt-hours of energy annually, reducing reliance on gas boilers and lowering the library’s energy consumption from the grid.
The system, designed and installed by British firm Naked Energy, features 950 solar thermal cylinders spanning 712.5 square meters of the library’s roof. Unlike traditional solar panels, these cylinders are designed to produce both heat and power simultaneously, a unique technology developed by Naked Energy.
The solar thermal system is a key element in the library’s wider project to overhaul and extend the building, which houses over 170 million items across 14 floors and attracts around 1.4 million visitors annually.
The project, funded in part by a government scheme aimed at decarbonizing public buildings, ensures the long-term preservation of these invaluable literary treasures while minimizing the library’s environmental impact.
