The Flat Iron Building — built in 1926, just two years before Asheville City Hall — is getting greener: On Thursday, July 8, Crane crews hoisted several solar panels up to the roof of the eight-story, Beaux art-style building. The panels will heat the water used by the the building’s steam-radiator heating system. photo by Jerry Nelson
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A solar updraft tower (also known as a solar chimney or solar tower) consists of a large greenhouse that funnels into a central tower. As sunlight shines on the greenhouse, the air inside is heated, and expands. The expanding air flows toward the central tower, where a turbine converts the air flow into electricity.