The 4th Conference on Solar Air Conditioning will once again represent a clear message to scientists, professionals, firms, and organizers: the positive trend of Solar Cooling applications is increasing further and further.

This year the conference will focus on:

1. Components
- heat driven water chillers
- heat driven open cycles
2. Systems technology
3. Practical Experience: Operation, Maintenance, Energy performance, Cost
performance
4. Solar Cooling Applications
5. System Design, Design tools, Simulation, Engineering

Chairman's message:
After Bad Staffelstein (Germany, 2005), Terragona (Spain, 2007), Palermo (Italy, 2009), Cyprus - the Island of Aphrodite with 10.000 year of history - is hosting the 4th International Solar Air Conditioning Conference. Through the years, the conference has been recognized as the most important event where scientists and industrial researchers, product manufacturers, building designers and planners, contractors, and installers have met to exchange knowledge and experiences with a common goal: To contribute towards the development of solar technologies and systems so that solar air conditioning can become a real, economically viable choice.
The rapid development in the field of solar thermal technologies and solar air-conditioning systems is a proof that the sun can be a reliable renewable source of energy. The sun can help the global effort to minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and to dramatically decrease the carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the consumption of electricity and fossil fuels for the purpose of heating and air conditioning our buildings.
Ten years have passed since the Mediterranean sun gave birth to the Greek "Photonio" - the largest Solar Air-conditioning system in the world with 2,700 m2 of solar collecting arrays. After this project, it has become apparent that solar air conditioning can be reliable and economically viable technology. Today we can say that the solar air conditioning technology has come out of the infancy stage and is growing fast to become the next energy that will drive the air conditioning systems.
Over the last 30 years, there has been a rapid development of building industry in Cyprus. At the same time and despite of the building technology improvements and the availability of innovative building materials, the modern buildings are consuming a great deal of energy; consequently Cyprus that has no fossil energy reserves is spending a considerable part of its gross national product to import fossil fuels. In addition, the mean temperature, according to the Cyprus's Meteorology department, has been increased during the last 100 years by more than 1.0 °C which is well over than the global average of 0.7 °C.
On the other hand, Cyprus holds the 1st position worldwide in the installation of solar panels per inhabitant. Within the above contexts, the development of solar air-conditioning in Cyprus could not be an exception. Five years have passed since the development of the 1st commercial solar air conditioning system and it is estimated that by the end of 2011, at least another 10 systems of various solar collecting technologies and array size will be in operation. The involvement of the newly established academy community of Cyprus with two State Technical Universities will help significantly to increase knowledge through the scientific observation, research, and development as both universities are acquiring limited size solar air conditioning systems.
It is time that we re-evaluate the role that should be entrusted to the solar air-conditioning technologies. For the next decade, we should focus on factors beyond the scientific issues. We need to talk about standardisation of components and systems that will lead to a) a significant reduction of costs, b) an improvement of efficiency and c) an increased reliability. It is time to dedicate to a solar air conditioning society that will be responsible to gather information on solar air conditioning, to encode it, and to dispense it to all interested professionals.
Closing, we invite you all to visit the sunny island of Cyprus where solar air conditioning is taking its right dimension; the sun energy is being captured to provide indoor comfort. Our expectation is that the 4th International Solar Air Conditioning Conference becomes a meeting place for scientists, researchers, manufacturers, engineering designers, building owners, and investors; where the sun will melt all barriers and obstacles towards the commercialization of solar air conditioning.

Dr. Kyriakos Tsiftes
University of Cyprus

You will meet
Planners, architects, engineers and scientists active in air-conditioning, solar thermal and cooling, energy policy makers, manufacturers, industry representatives, other attendees