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rodin | 02-04-2007 04:10 AM
Solar powered air con Seems like a no-brainer. The sun's power is there when you need it. Anyone got ideas on this? I am looking to chill houses in low-humidity 100F

aeondaze | 02-04-2007 06:36 AM
Re: Solar powered air con chilling a house...? Maybe u should grow some trees if you have the room...this is a very energy hungry method, maybe OK for a chiller box but maybe not the whole house, unless it's relatively small and you can afford PV panels, cool. A DC gas compresor + coil + fan + control would be a nice start...what about insulating the ceiling with thick bats...? :withstupi trees + bats (insulating ones, not :bat:) worked a treat for me in ~three years too, :proud: I bought fast growing natives...

hoarder | 02-04-2007 08:23 AM
Re: Solar powered air con There are quite a few homes in West Texas that have solar powered swamp coolers.

<SLV> | 02-04-2007 09:00 AM
Re: Solar powered air con Quote:
Originally Posted by hoarder (Post 497803) There are quite a few homes in West Texas that have solar powered swamp coolers.
Swamp cooler is the way to go in low-humidity. Uses less power also. I have also heard of people circulating well water through their walls to both cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I think ground water temps are consistently in the 45-50 degree range, so it helps to moderate the house overall.

Au_Ag | 02-04-2007 10:03 AM
Re: Solar powered air con Quote:
Originally Posted by rodin (Post 497757) Seems like a no-brainer. The sun's power is there when you need it. Anyone got ideas on this? I am looking to chill houses.....
Well, one thing you have to understand is that air conditioning/cooling/refrigeration essentially relies on transfer of heat. In that, you don't "cool" anything. You remove the heat from it. I am unaware of anythiing "off the shelf" You need to do some research on the "absorption" method, which conceivably could be a a viable method. The absorption method relies on a heat source and the system absorbs the heat, but still has to tranfer the heat to the outside. This is often done with large cooling towers/chillers. Back in the late sixties,early 70's or so - natural gas air conditioning was tried in the southeast US - but never made out very well, I dunno why. The depth of my knowledge on this is over thirty years old, but I do not believe that there have been earth shattering developments or major changes in the basic assumptions - Off the top of my head, you would probably get better results/payback with passive methods such as shading (previously mentioned), insulation, passive ventilation, or ventilation boosting, etc. What you wish to is doable in theory. However, as a practical matter, it is extremely difficult to achieve in a feasible manner.

Au_Ag | 02-04-2007 10:08 AM
Re: Solar powered air con most (not all) cooling today relies on the basic principle that as a liquid evaporates it absorbs heat, and when it condensates it gives off heat. Hence the common evaporator inside the home, condensor outside. In climates where practical, the system reverses in the winter and removes heat from the outside - and is called a "heat pump"

Large Sarge | 02-04-2007 10:41 AM
Re: Solar powered air con air Conditioner is an energy Hog, it might require quite a few panels to get the juice you need.

Horn | 02-04-2007 12:07 PM
Re: Solar powered air con Quote:
Originally Posted by hoarder (Post 497803) There are quite a few homes in West Texas that have solar powered swamp coolers.
Linky for ya, i want one or two. http://www.etaengineering.com/evapor...stercool.shtml

Unclad Lad | 02-11-2007 10:29 PM
Re: Solar powered air con Yep-evap is ideal for a low-humidity habitat. There's another one I've seen-I can't remember the name of it-that uses rising hot air (convection) to your advantage. Picture a house with an inclined roof, where the highest part of it is on one edge of the house (vs peaked in the center). There are windows at that point that allow the sun to heat the air, and vents just above that. Meanwhile, there is a pipe six feet or more underground that has one end coming into the lowest of the house; the other end stretches out 50 or more feet and terminates in a venting. The pipe is clay tile or maybe concrete. As the hot air vents out the top, it creates a slight vacuum which pulls outside air through the vent in the yard. As it passes down the pipe the air is cooled. Another great feature is that cool air can hold less humidity than hot air, so the air circulating through the house is dryer than what is outside. I saw this built into a house in SW Ohio, which is as muggy as anywhere I've ever been, and it was very comfortable inside. This isn't something you can just add on to a house-it's integral.

Halophyte | 02-11-2007 11:34 PM
Re: Solar powered air con Low temp absorption refrigeration is interesting if you have a heat sink big enough. The difference between solar heated water @ 150 degrees Vs ground water/pond water temp could be enough of a temperature gradiant. A heat wheel is another option requiring only the blower and computer controlled motor drive for the entropy wheel. Ground/river water in my area is a constant 50 - 60 degrees, a fan/coil unit could be used with a flow of about 3 GPM. Any temperature below indoor air dew point will dehumidify. And if all else fails, you can rely on my fancy dancy solar powered ceiling fans. h

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