Original designs that reduce the cost of air conditioning and heating, created by companies
conservalEngineering(Headquarters in Canada) andIceEnergy(USA). The systems are designed for medium and large office and industrial buildings, as well as for large cottages.solar wall
Solarwall
(solar wall) produced by multinational companyconservalEngineering. The structures are mounted on top of the southern walls of buildings, with a gap of several centimeters. An additional layer is thin panels of steel or aluminum with a black coating, the entire area of \u200b\u200bwhich is dotted with many miniature holes. A cavity is formed between the wall and the outer panel. A fan is installed in its upper part, with the help of which outside air is supplied to the building.
On sunny autumn and winter days, black plates attract rays and heat up significantly. The internal heat of the heated room, lost through the walls, also enters the gap. Fresh outdoor air is drawn in through the openings, warmed up in the gap between the house and the solar panel, and then transported into the building.
In summer, the black wall helps the building to cool. Thanks to switchable flaps, heated air is thrown out. Its updraft draws in a fresh street jet directed into the building.
Thus, the required power of the regular heating system in the first case and the air conditioning system in the second is significantly reduced. Solar walls save thousands of dollars and tons of fuel a year.
ice bear
Ise
Bear(Ice Bear) - an innovation from an American companyIceEnergy- is a block with dimensions of 1.6m x 1.7m x 2m weighing 2.27 tons, connected to the split system of the building. A polymer tank with a thick layer of insulation, a heat exchanger, pipes and valves, a pump and an electronics unit are “bear organs”. The refrigerant "running" in the air conditioner is passed through a heat exchanger.On cool nights in empty buildings, there is zero need for air conditioning. The "Bear" automatically starts the compressor and the two tons of water inside its tank turn into ice.
During the day, a weak pump moves the refrigerant between the "bear" heat exchanger (where the refrigerant vapor condenses the cold stored in the ice) and the evaporators in the building. The daily consumption of electricity is reduced significantly, tens of kWh and thousands of dollars a year are saved.
Comparison of instantaneous energy consumption (schedule for several days) of a conventional air conditioner (left) and an air conditioner paired with an Ice Bear (right). The red line on the left is the consumption of the air conditioner for cooling the air (during the day). The red line on the right is the consumption of the air conditioner for the operation of the fans (during the day). The purple line on the right is the Bear's consumption for pumping refrigerant through the system (during the day). The blue line on the right is the consumption of the air conditioner for freezing water (at night) (illustration from ice-energy.com).
The ultracold strontium monofluoride (SrF) molecule was obtained by Yale University physicists. Previously, only atoms participated in such experiments. In order to reduce the temperature of the molecule to a few hundredths of a kelvin, scientists had to resort to a number of tricks.
SrF was chosen as a guinea pig for a reason - calculations showed that these molecules would not oscillate, interfering with the process. Note that, unlike individual atoms, molecules are poorly subjected to strong cooling: they are larger and can store energy in vibrations of atomic bonds, rotation.
The method, the long-known laser cooling, was also modified, choosing the wavelength so that the radiation was absorbed by the molecules, rather than spinning them, and so that the particles could then dump this energy with secondary radiation.
So far, the temperature of ultracold strontium monofluoride cannot be called a record low, but the work itself is reaching a new level. In addition, scientists plan to continue experiments and achieve even greater cooling of the molecule. According to theoretical data, nothing should prevent this.
When the temperature of atoms approaches absolute zero, the laws of quantum mechanics come into play. Physicists came up with the idea of using the resulting low-energy oscillations of atoms as ultrasensitive accelerometers and quantum clocks, to obtain a Bose-Einstein condensate. The picture shows the trap used in this kind of experiment.
(photo by E. Shuman/DeMille Group)
In the future, the Americans will try to supercool a dozen bipolar molecules in order to study the quantum mechanical aspects of their chemical interaction (previously, something similar was done with not quite ordinary rubidium-potassium molecules).
NEW ALLOY WILL REVOLUTIONATE REFRIGERATORS
An unusual composition created by experts from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Center for Neutron Research (Center for Neutron Research), may one day lead to the appearance of refrigeration devices that are much more economical than today's, while silent and environmentally friendly.
Scientists have long been trying to bring the magnetocaloric effect into everyday life, which has been involved so far only in specific industrial processes and laboratory experiments. It consists in the fact that some materials, when an external magnetic field is applied, heat up significantly. If they are then allowed to cool down by discharging heat into the environment, and then the field is turned off, these materials dramatically reduce the temperature. It becomes much lower than the starting point.
In this phase, they can take heat from the object being cooled and return to the average temperature again to start the cycle again. The repetition of such cycles can lead to a noticeable cooling of the desired object. And potentially this cycle can have significantly better efficiency than the gas (evaporation / condensation) used in traditional refrigerators.
The principle of operation of the refrigerator on the magnetocaloric effect. The purple color indicates the approximate room temperature of the magnetocaloric material. Red and blue, respectively - its strong heating and cooling as the external field is turned on and off
(illustrated by Talbott, NIST)
The problem is that most magnetocaloric materials capable of operating at room temperature use the extremely rare and expensive metal gadolinium and / or toxic arsenic in their composition. Because physicists do not stop searching for new "compositions" with the desired properties.
And if in the past similar work, scientists managed to obtain a magnetocaloric polymer (whose range of work, however, is suitable for cooling chips, but not meat in the freezer), then the current heroes have created a unique alloy. This is a mixture of manganese, iron, phosphorus and germanium, which, with a certain structure, showed a powerful response to an external field.
The researchers varied the ratio of ingredients and found that the greatest magnetocaloric effect is achieved with the composition Mn 1.1 Fe 0.9 (P 0.8 Ge 0.2). Numerically, this effect (entropy change) exceeded 74 J/kg·K, which is significantly more than previous achievements.
This composition is the first to show such an extreme magnetocaloric effect at room temperature (which is required for refrigerators, for example), and besides, it does not use either arsenic or gadolinium. Illumination of the composition with a neutron beam showed that at the moment of applying or turning off the field in the sample, not only a change in the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases occurs, but also a cardinal change in the crystal structure, which can explain the high efficiency of the composition.
At the same time, neutron refraction also showed an uneven distribution of germanium over the sample, which reduced the effect as a whole. Therefore, subject to the optimization of the material and its more uniform magnetization, it will be possible to achieve more than 100 J / kg K from the same mixture, the researchers who published their article in Physical Review B are convinced.
Lack of sleep and air conditioning can lead to OBESITY
The causes of obesity can be not only a sedentary lifestyle and gluttony of junk food imposed by aggressive advertising. David B. Allison of the University of Alabama at Birmingham doubts that this pair of factors, which he calls the "Big Two", are to blame for obesity.
For example, Ellison points out, no relationship has yet been found between the number of hours children spend in school in physical education and the number of overweight students. There was also no correlation found between obesity and proximity to home, school, or work at fast food restaurants or soft drink consumption.
Together with colleagues, Ellison compiled a list of 10 factors that can be as serious a cause of obesity as the Big Two. These include lack of sleep, which increases appetite, and air conditioning.
As for air conditioners, the situation is as follows. When people are surrounded by temperatures above or below neutral, they lose weight: fat is burned to heat the body in the cold, and heat does not contribute to "bon appetit". But people, thanks to air conditioners or split systems, are heated in winter and cooled in summer, so they are not in danger of losing weight.
The list of factors included a decrease in the number of smokers (smoking suppresses appetite), and an aging population, and an increase in the number of babies born to women of an age who are more likely to be already obese.
In addition, overweight people, quite possibly, prefer to marry each other and give birth to children genetically predisposed to obesity.
HONOLULU WILL BE AIR-CONDITIONED
WITH AN ALTERNATIVE COOLING SOURCE
The American corporation Makai Ocean Engineering has developed a large-scale air conditioning system for downtown Honolulu, which will use water raised from great depths.
Such projects are known. At a depth of 700 meters, for example, the temperature of ocean water is 7 degrees Celsius. This water can be pumped into the shore "Cooling Station", where it will cool the clean fresh water circulating in an extensive air conditioning system through heat exchangers.
However, literally a few buildings in several US cities, in Stockholm and Toronto, in Hawaii itself and in a number of other places, are cooled in this way.
And the new $100 million system proposed for Honolulu will have to cool the air in 65 large buildings located in the city center at once, including administrative complexes.
Despite the seemingly decent price of building the system, it should pay for itself relatively quickly, since the energy consumption of the air cooling complex with deep sea water is 75% less than the energy consumption of traditional air conditioning systems.
And this is very important for hot Hawaii, which is completely dependent on imported coal and oil.
The project is currently undergoing environmental review. Biologists are asking what will happen to the microorganisms and nutrients now at depth if they get into surface waters where there is sunlight. Will there be a violation of the natural balance?
Engineers, however, have an answer ready - the spent sea water will also be released at great depths, where the light of the Sun does not reach.
"ICE BEAR" HELPS SAVING ELECTRICITY TO "SOLAR WALL"
When there is no money for air conditioning and it's hot, they curtain the windows with white cloth. When it's cold, old frames are sealed with paper. But two North American companies in their own way understand "folk remedies for climate control." They came up with original systems that can greatly reduce the cost of buildings for heating and air conditioning.
Let's just say that both innovations did not appear yesterday and have already managed to win a certain number of grateful fans, as well as a number of awards from various magazines and organizations. However, both systems periodically pop up on resources dedicated to "green" technologies, and we could not pass by - these little things work painfully gracefully, which, by the way, cost not so much money, in comparison with traditional systems for maintaining the "correct" temperature in buildings , and arranged quite simply.
Both are intended mainly for office and industrial buildings of medium and large "caliber", but, obviously, they will not refuse to work in a large cottage. The first system is called "Solar Wall" (Solarwall), and it is produced by the multinational company Conserval Engineering headquartered in Canada.
The "Solar Wall" is installed on top of a regular wall of a building
(illustrated by solarwall.com)
The "solar wall" is the second wall installed with a gap of about a few centimeters over the south wall of the building. This additional layer consists of thin panels of aluminum or steel, with a black coating and many small holes throughout the area.
The upper part of the cavity formed between the walls is connected to a fan that supplies air from the street to the building.
In the autumn-winter period, when there is sun (and this happens, at least in the USA and Canada - often), the black plates of the "Solar Wall" noticeably heat up. Air from the street is drawn into the holes, heated in the gap between the walls and enters the room.
Scheme of the "Solar Wall"
(illustrated by solarwall.com)
Moreover, leaving through the real wall (brick or the same steel) of the building - the very wall on top of which the "Solnechnaya" wall is mounted, the internal heat of the heated room is not wasted here, but helps to heat the fresh air entering inside.
This significantly reduces the required power of the regular heating system of the building.
In the summer, oddly enough, this black wall helps the building cool. Only now the dampers are switched in the system, and the air heated in the false wall is immediately thrown out, but its upward flow helps to suck air from the street into the building through other channels. And the same wall prevents the southern facade of the building from overheating.
This reduces the required power of the standard air conditioning system.
Some production buildings of Ford (Canadian branch) and Bombardier (right), equipped with "Solar Walls". The second is the largest building with such a wall; here it has
area of 10 thousand square meters
(photos solarwall.com)
Installed on a number of industrial buildings, "Solar Walls" now save their owners thousands of dollars a year, and the planet - tons and tons of fuel for power plants.
In the same way, the second original system, Ice Bear, from the American company Ice Energy, reduces electricity bills.
"Bear" is a rectangular block measuring approximately 1.6 x 1.7 x 2 meters and weighing 2.27 tons.
It consists of a polymer tank covered with a thick layer of thermal insulation, a heat exchanger, a number of pipes and valves, a small pump and an electronics unit.
Connect the "Bear" to the standard air conditioning system (split or multi-split) - passing through the "Bear" heat exchanger the refrigerant running in the air conditioner native to the building.
"Ice Bear" (beige block),
adjacent to the outdoor unit of the split system and works with it in pairs
(photo from ice-energy.com)
The setup works like this. At night, while there is no one or almost no one in the building, there is not such heat on the street, there is no sun, and the need for air conditioning is zero, the "Bear" automatically starts the standard compressor of the existing refrigeration system, which, like the "Bear" itself, stands outside (against a wall or on a roof), inside the air conditioner condenser unit.
Using a moderate amount of electricity (the peak of power consumed in this phase is half that of the peak consumption during the day), which, moreover, in many places at night is sold much cheaper than "daytime", the building's air conditioner freezes the water inside the "Bear" (its water in the tank does not go anywhere and does not mix with anything).
Yes, this is the whole secret - in the tank of the miracle unit there is more than 2 tons of water (it is the bulk of the "Bear"), and overnight it all turns into a solid cube of ice.
Scheme of work "Bear"
(illustration ice-energy.com)
But in the afternoon, when the clear sun comes and the accompanying heat, the entire system (the building's regular air conditioner, which was available earlier, plus the "Bear" connected to it) requires only 100-300 watts of power to provide coolness inside a fairly large industrial premises.
How? Very simple. The stock air conditioner is not working. And this hundred watts is required by a small pump in the Medved, which drives the refrigerant of the air conditioning system between the Medved's heat exchanger (where the cold stored in the ice condenses the refrigerant vapor) and the evaporators inside the building - the same indoor units of the split system that cool the air , well, and even a fraction of the current is needed for the air fans of these same indoor units. And that's it.
Comparison of instantaneous energy consumption (schedule for several days) of a conventional air conditioner (left) and an air conditioner paired with an Ice Bear (right). The red line on the left is the consumption of the air conditioner for cooling the air (during the day). The red line on the right is the consumption of the air conditioner for the operation of the fans (during the day). The purple line on the right is the Bear's consumption for pumping refrigerant through the system (during the day). The blue line on the right is the consumption of the air conditioner for freezing water (at night)
(illustration ice-energy.com)
In comparison with a conventional air conditioner, which would be driven at full power in the very heat, the total electricity consumption for a full day is reduced by several times. Dozens of kilowatt-hours are saved and, again, hundreds and thousands of dollars annually.
And for cities as a whole, the spread of such “Bears” is beneficial, because they reduce energy consumption during the hottest daytime hours, when power plants barely have time to “serve” consumers.
No wonder the US Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for more Bears to be bought across the country.
But it seems that where the capitalist can see clear savings in current costs and a reasonable payback period for a new installation, he himself will figure out what's what.
When there is no money for air conditioning and it's hot, they curtain the windows with white cloth. When it's cold, old frames are sealed with paper. But two North American companies have their own understanding of "folk remedies for climate control." They came up with original systems that can greatly reduce the cost of buildings for heating and air conditioning.
Let's just say that both innovations did not appear yesterday and have already managed to win a certain number of grateful fans, as well as a number of awards from various magazines and organizations. However, both systems periodically pop up on resources dedicated to "green" technologies, and we could not pass by - these little things work painfully gracefully, which, by the way, cost not so much money, in comparison with traditional systems for maintaining the "correct" temperature in buildings , and arranged quite simply.
Both are intended mainly for office and industrial buildings of medium and large "caliber", but, obviously, they will not refuse to work in a large cottage.
The first system is called Solarwall, and it is produced by the multinational company Conserval Engineering, headquartered in Canada.
The "Solar Wall" is installed on top of a regular building wall (illustration from solarwall.com).
The "solar wall" is the second wall, installed with a gap of about a few centimeters on top of the south wall of the building. This additional layer consists of thin panels of aluminum or steel, with a black coating and many small holes throughout the area.
The upper part of the cavity formed between the walls is connected to a fan that supplies air from the street to the building.
In the autumn-winter period, when there is sun (and this happens, at least in the USA and Canada - often), the black plates of the "Solar Wall" noticeably heat up. Air from the street is drawn into the holes, heated in the gap between the walls and enters the room.
Scheme of the "Solar Wall" (illustration from solarwall.com).
Moreover, leaving through a real wall (brick or the same steel) of the building, the same wall on top of which the Solnechnaya wall is mounted, the internal heat of the heated room is not wasted here, but helps to heat the fresh air entering inside.
This significantly reduces the required power of the regular heating system of the building.
In the summer, oddly enough, this black wall helps the building cool. Only now the dampers are switched in the system, and the air heated in the false wall is immediately thrown out, but its upward flow helps to suck air from the street into the building through other channels. And the same wall prevents the southern facade of the building from overheating.
This reduces the required power of the standard air conditioning system.
Some production buildings of Ford (Canadian branch) and Bombardier (right), equipped with "Solar Walls". The second is the largest building with such a wall, it has an area of 10 thousand square meters here (photos from solarwall.com).
Installed on a number of industrial buildings, "Solar Walls" now save their owners thousands of dollars a year, and the planet - tons and tons of fuel for power plants.
In the same way, the second original system reduces electricity bills - Ice Bear from the American company Ice Energy.
"Bear" is a rectangular block measuring approximately 1.6 x 1.7 x 2 meters and weighing 2.27 tons.
It consists of a polymer tank covered with a thick layer of thermal insulation, a heat exchanger, a number of pipes and valves, a small pump and an electronics unit.
Connect the "Bear" to the standard air conditioning system (split or multi-split) - passing through the "Bear" heat exchanger the refrigerant running in the air conditioner native to the building.
The Ice Bear (beige block) is adjacent to the outdoor unit of the split system and works in pair with it (photo from ice-energy.com).
The setup works like this. At night, while there is no one or almost no one in the building, it is not so hot outside, there is no sun, and the need for air conditioning is zero, the Medved automatically starts the regular compressor of the existing refrigeration system, which, like the Medved itself, stands outside (against a wall or on a roof), inside the air conditioner condenser unit.
Using a moderate amount of electricity (the peak of the power consumed in this phase is half that of the peak consumption during the day), which, moreover, in many places at night is sold much cheaper than the "day" one, the building's air conditioner freezes the water inside the "Bear" (its water in the tank does not go anywhere and does not mix with anything).
Yes, this is the whole secret - in the tank of the miracle unit there is more than 2 tons of water (it is the bulk of the "Bear"), and overnight it all turns into a solid cube of ice.
Scheme of the "Bear" (illustration from ice-energy.com).
But in the afternoon, when the clear sun comes and the accompanying heat, the entire system (the building’s regular air conditioner, which was available earlier, plus the “Bear” connected to it) requires only 100-300 watts of power to provide coolness inside a fairly large industrial premises.
How? Very simple. The stock air conditioner is not working. And this hundred watts is required by a small pump in the Medved, which drives the refrigerant of the air conditioning system between the Medved's heat exchanger (where the cold stored in the ice condenses the refrigerant vapor) and the evaporators inside the building - the same indoor units of the split system that cool the air , well, and even a fraction of the current is needed for the air fans of these same indoor units. And that's it.
Comparison of instantaneous energy consumption (schedule for several days) of a conventional air conditioner (left) and an air conditioner paired with an Ice Bear (right). The red line on the left is the consumption of the air conditioner for cooling the air (during the day). The red line on the right is the consumption of the air conditioner for the operation of the fans (during the day). The purple line on the right is the Bear's consumption for pumping refrigerant through the system (during the day). The blue line on the right is the consumption of the air conditioner for freezing water (at night) (illustration from ice-energy.com).
In comparison with a conventional air conditioner, which would be driven at full power in the very heat, the total electricity consumption for a full day is reduced by several times. Dozens of kilowatt-hours are saved and, again, hundreds and thousands of dollars annually.
And for cities in general, the spread of such “Bears” is beneficial, because they reduce energy consumption during the hottest daytime hours, when power plants barely have time to “serve” consumers.
No wonder the US Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for more Bears to be bought across the country.
But it seems that where the capitalist shines with a clear savings in current costs and a reasonable payback period for a new installation, he himself will figure out what's what.
In our fickle world, the weather is changeable, as, indeed, the mood. In summer we want snowy and, and in winter we get tired of numerous frosts and go on vacation to warm lands, where the sea, the sun, and. To keep warm in the winter we buy heaters, and to cool down in the summer we install air conditioners. All this greatly increases the cost of electricity.
Thrifty Americans have long found a way out. So the North American company Ice Energy has been producing an original system for many years, which allows to greatly reduce the cost of buildings for heating and air conditioning. Their system is called the "Ice Bear" and is a rectangular block measuring approximately 1.6 x 1.7 x 2 meters and weighing 2.27 tons.
It consists of a polymer tank covered with a thick layer of thermal insulation, a heat exchanger, a number of pipes and valves, a small pump and an electronics unit. "Ice Bear" is connected to the standard air conditioning system (split or multi-split). In the photo, the "Ice Bear" (beige block) is adjacent to the outdoor unit of the split system and works in tandem with it.
The setup works like this. At night, when there is no one or almost no one in the building, it is not so hot outside, there is no sun, and the need for air conditioning is zero, the Ice Bear automatically starts the standard compressor. A very moderate amount of electricity is consumed (the peak power consumed in this phase is half that of the peak consumption during the day). In addition, in many places electricity is much cheaper at night than during the day. The building's air conditioner, turning it into, inside the "Ice Bear" (its water in the tank does not go anywhere and does not mix with anything). Yes, this is the whole secret - in the tank of the "Ice Bear" there is more than 2 tons of water (it is the bulk of the "Ice Bear"), and overnight it all turns into solid water.
But in the daytime, when the sun is shining, the entire system (the building's regular air conditioner, which was available earlier, plus the "Ice Bear" connected to it) requires only 100-300 watts of power to provide coolness inside a fairly large industrial premises. How? Very simple.
The stock air conditioner is not working. And this hundred watts is required by a small pump in the Ice Bear, which drives the refrigerant of the air conditioning system between the Ice Bear heat exchanger (where the cold stored condenses the refrigerant vapor) and the evaporators inside the building - the very indoor units of the split system that cool the air , well, and a little more electricity is needed for the air fans of these same indoor units. And that's it.
In comparison with a conventional air conditioner, which would run at full power in the very heat, the total electricity consumption for a full day is reduced by several times. Dozens of kilowatt-hours are saved and, again, hundreds and thousands of dollars annually. And for cities in general, the spread of such "Ice Bears" on hand, because they reduce energy consumption during the hottest hours of the day, when power plants barely have time to "serve" consumers. No wonder the US Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for more Ice Bears to be bought across the country.