Solar Air Conditioning (Cooling)

The only way I could imagine this working is by using 85 degree F water (29.4 degrees C.) as condenser water for a heat pump system heated by solar. The need for a large insulated underground storage tank will resolve the water content problem of the panels. The leaving water temperature from the heat pumps would be 95 degrees F, (35 degrees C.) therefore still needing a cooling tower to dissipate heat and get it back to 85 degrees F (29.4 degrees C.) E.W.T. for the heat pumps. The need to bypass tower water at the tower would control the loop temperature from running away. Cold water make-up would enable the system to respond to higher temperature water off the panel system. There are 100 ways to do this. Here are some manufacturer links to aid you.

For cooling towers. http://www.evapco.com/cooling_towers.asp

I like these guys as a panel manufacturer. http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/artikeljuni2002-e.html

I would look at Climate Master Inc. for heatpumps. http://www.climatemaster.com/

http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/artikeljuni2002-e.html This link is very good for additional information.

Solution 1 : Years gone by we had coolers outside of the house. The cooling effect of the evaporating water was used to keep fresh produce, meat inside the cooler cold. the cheapest solution i came across was a wooden frame box covered with mesh with a blanket around it, all you had to do was to keep the blanket damp.

Solution 2: if a fluid or gas is heated by the sun (before ozone and black holes, CFC was used) pressure will build up. if you release the pressure through an orifice cooling / freezing will result.

This should be a DIY project: addapt a modern conditioner to replace the pump with a sun heated element.

It sounds as if you are speaking about the ammonia absorprion cycle used in Servel refigerators, which were powered by a bigger than normal gas pilot flame. We can go into more detail if you wish.

Bernie Katz

That's right! Vapour Absorption System can be used. (VAS)

It is being used in co-generation plants were waste heat from diesel generator sets is used as energy source.

You can use hot water from the solar heating panels as an energy input.

- Nitin Mittal

there is another way: a stirling engine coupled to a stirling heat pump.

The hot part of the sirling engine needs to be heated by the sun, the cooling part of the heat pump is cooling your room.

It is in fact the best way to do it (highest output) but it needs some extra engineering

As others have said an adsorption chiller or refrigeration system may be what you are referring to. This above link describes how they work.

Can it be done efficiently without using electricity? An air to air heat exchanger passing air across a dessicant wheel will lower your initial wet bulb temperature which is the actual factor that drives air conditioner tonnage, (btuh). 1 ton = 12,000btuh.

Solar air conditioning can only be used in a closed loop refrigeration system, or open look evaprotive system. I gave you the open loop evaporation example above. To me this would be very effective due to the water temperature off the panels.

To know how they works look for "Thermal absorcion" on wikipedia.com

Of course there are a lot of diferent ways how to cool the air from a Solar power.

1. Absorcion: Evaporation

2. Sensation: Wind

3. Using a Stirling Engine to provide Electrical power to a normal air conditioner.

4. Using Steam Engine to provide the electrical power needed.

5. ETC.

if you take a scuba black alum or steel tank, you put it at the focus point of a parabolica antena (the old satellite tv analog ones and cover in inside with a mirror milar) the temperature will raise dramatically, at the desired pressure, could be monitored with an old scuba gear, you will start to release pressured air, it will be cold ... try it with a prefilled tank, it is noisy too. once you have cold, you can harvest that cold in various ways.

you will have heat too for bonus, heat your water for different uses ... you will need to track the sun, www.otherpower.com, has diy ideas. another bonus from this is once you have all that heat, a water maker (with vapor condensor) is in the making, in the process, why dont you put a power windmill and make electricity. These parabolicas can burn wood in 5 seconds, dont ever look at the focus beam, keep it from children's reach ... if you dont like your neighbor ... no its too nasty.

Hi Yellowcat, you forget one nasty thing.

The pressure in the tank will go up as the temperature rises: OK that is true.

When you release the pressure, it will absorb energy (heat) this far it is OK.

But the pressure in the tank is there by the high temperature so the expanding air will simply absorb its own heat.

When you would have started with a pressurized tank, the energy that you could extract from the environment is due to the fact that your compressor had to work hard in the first place. This has nothing to see with the sun.

But do the same thing with a Stirling engine and you will receive a nice energy bonus as this one lets the air circulate between the hot center of the parabola and the cool back. (dT as needed in the the second law of thermodynamics)

The problem with the tank in the center is the zeroth law: you will have to play the game.

do any of you guys know of a manufacturer of industrial and/or domestic solar A/C's?

the higher the volume, the better.

Wangito.

Check out www.climatewell.com. This is a Swedish company which is producing a device which uses a special salt to store solar energy.

Go to http://www.solarenergytek.com/ these guys make solar ac units

I saw a simple solar chimney, based on an indigenous desert village design, using a tall black tube with a black, glazed southern side that created sufficient draft to pull air through a maze of earthen tunnels (maybe natural caves?) cooling it for room comfort; cheap and maintenance-free. An evaporative cooler would add effectiveness in an arid climate.

You might find these of interest. They are a couple of tower systems that can be used to cool a house in conjunction with evaporative cooling. The only input these systems require is water but they are only feasible in areas that have a low relative humidity during the hotter months.