New air conditioner tech could cut power usage by 50-90%

[Modelworks]

If they can get this to work in the consumer market it would be great. Imagine cutting your AC power usage by half ! Here it has been in the mid and upper 90's for the past two weeks with no break in site. Poor heat pump is running a bit too much.




http://www.nrel.gov/features/20100611_ac.html#nogo

Ah, the cool, refreshing feel of air conditioning on a sweltering summer day.

Ugh, the discomfort when those energy bills in July, August and September come due — $200, $400, $600 or more.

Feel miserable, or dig deep into your wallet — not much of a choice for the 250 million Americans who live in climates where heat, humidity or both are a Catch-22 for three to 12 months a year.

A soothing solution may be on its way, thanks to a melding of technologies in filters, coolers and drying agents.

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has invented a new air conditioning process with the potential of using 50 percent to 90 percent less energy than today's top-of-the-line units. It uses membranes, evaporative cooling and liquid desiccants in a way that has never been done before in the centuries-old science of removing heat from the air.

 

[Anubis]

ill take 2 please

 

[xanis]

That's pretty awesome. Interesting stuff.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Yeah, but can anyone afford them? If one needs to take out a 10-year loan and pay $200-400/month to be able to afford it then its a lose-lose situation.

 

[xanis]

Yeah, but can anyone afford them? If one needs to take out a 10-year loan and pay $200-400/month to be able to afford it then its a lose-lose situation.

I would hope that they'd find a way to make it affordable for the masses

Also, I wouldn't mind paying a little more initially for something like this if I was able to save in the long run on energy usage which, I imagine, is the goal.

 

[Toastedlightly]

So we dry the air then use a swamp cooler on the now dry air? Sounds decent to me. It looks like heat is used to re-new the dessicants. Pretty cool stuff.

EDIT: I see it is a more continuous cycle than that, like a series of drying-wetting steps which ends up cooling the air.

 

[Bignate603]

If it works it would be huge. That's a big if though, journalists always write articles like the technology is just about to be released even if it has significant unresolved problems. I'd love to see a huge increase in AC efficiency, I live in Phoenix and balancing comfort and my electricity bill is never fun.

 

[Regs]

If it works it would be huge. That's a big if though, journalists always write articles like the technology is just about to be released even if it has significant unresolved problems. I'd love to see a huge increase in AC efficiency, I live in Phoenix and balancing comfort and my electricity bill is never fun.

"We forgot to mention this causes cancer after 4 years of use and costs 10 million dollars for the hydrocarbonneucliocarbonator but saves you 10k on variable cooling costs"

 

[Sluggo]

I like the graphic. Air goes into the magic box, then comes out. It was very informative.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Reading through the article it doesn't look like they'd be effective in very hot climates like Phoenix or Miami.

 

[PottedMeat]

Most people know of desiccants as the pebble-sized handfuls that come with new shoes to keep them dry.

The kind NREL uses are syrupy liquids — highly concentrated aqueous salt solutions of lithium chloride or calcium chloride. They have a high affinity for water vapor, and can thus create very dry air.

Because of the complexity of desiccant cooling systems, they have traditionally only been used in industrial drying processes. Inventing a device simple enough for easy installation and maintenance is what has impaired desiccant cooling from entering into commercial and residential cooling markets.

To solve that problem, the NREL device uses thin membranes that simplify the process of integrating air flow, desiccants, and evaporative cooling. These result in an air conditioning system that provides superior comfort and humidity control.

Sounds fragile. Probably easy to spoil the membranes. It sounds like it needs consumables. At least you don't really need anything except electricity with today's refrigeration units.

 

[sdifox]

sounds like slight improvement on water cooling...

 

[Regs]

I like the graphic. Air goes into the magic box, then comes out. It was very informative.

lmao I thought the same thing too.

 

[her209]

http://www.nrel.gov/features/20100611_ac.html#nogo

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has invented a new air conditioning process with the potential of using 50 percent to 90 percent less energy than today's top-of-the-line units. It uses membranes, evaporative cooling and liquid desiccants in a way that has never been done before in the centuries-old science of removing heat from the air.

Implying that the government has done something.

 

[Born2bwire]

Sounds fragile. Probably easy to spoil the membranes. It sounds like it needs consumables. At least you don't really need anything except electricity with today's refrigeration units.

And refrigerant...

 

[Meghan54]

Reading through the article it doesn't look like they'd be effective in very hot climates like Phoenix or Miami.

Hot and humid. 96F and 90% humidity. You start sweating as soon as you get out the door.

 

[Syringer]

Hmm high of 68 today in San Diego

 

[LTC8K6]

Hmm high of 68 today in San Diego

95 and sopping wet here in central NC at 11AM...

 

[Modelworks]

95 and sopping wet here in central NC at 11AM...

I'm in NC as well. I thought someone left a door or window open by how much the AC has been running. This is a double insulated, low E glass, etc energy saving designed space too.

 

[ElFenix]

Reading through the article it doesn't look like they'd be effective in very hot climates like Phoenix or Miami.

didn't try very hard, did you?

This means that DEVap could become the most energy efficient way to cool your house whether you live in Phoenix, New York, or Houston.

houston is easily worse than miami during july and august

Not as hot as you might think! The hottest month in Miami is, no surprise, August. The average high temperature in August is 89.8 F.

june, july, and august are all above that. and we've still got 100% humidity, just like miami.

 

[Syringer]

So I've never lived in a real humid area..100% humidity is just an exaggeration right? How humid does it actually get?

 

[her209]

So I've never lived in a real humid area..100% humidity is just an exaggeration right? How humid does it actually get?

 

[foghorn67]

And refrigerant...

You don't refill it. Unless you fail.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I'm kinda confused on how this thing works. Does the liquid desiccant get regenerated within the same AC unit or does it have to be replaced and regenerated at a factory?

 

[fatpat268]

So I've never lived in a real humid area..100% humidity is just an exaggeration right? How humid does it actually get?

Realistically, anything more than 50% humidity on a 90-100F day is humid enough to call it 100%