Coolerado Claims Solar Powered Air Conditioner for Power Conservation
Coolerado, a Colorado-based company, is pushing its namesake air conditioning unit, a novel device that cools air by using water instead of chemical refrigerants and a compressor. Its developers believe it’s the greatest thing for warm climates since the automatic ice maker.
The company’s claims are impressive on multiple fronts. Most important is the power consumption of the unit on display in the video: 600 watts, or “one third the amount of power of a standard hair dryer” and a tenth of what a similarly sized traditional A/C unit would use. Spokesman Rick Gillan says the unit is large enough to cool 3,000 square feet occupied by about 20 people — the size of a small business — and can be powered completely by a small array of four photovoltaic panels.
Also appealing is the idea that the air conditioner itself can help boost the output of the solar panels powering it: In the heat of summer, when solar panels operate at lower efficiency, ducts from the A/C route exhaust air their way. The exhaust air is warmer than that being delivered to the rooms below, but cooler than the untreated outside air, so it helps the solar cells operate closer to their maximum efficiency.
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The company’s claims are impressive on multiple fronts. Most important is the power consumption of the unit on display in the video: 600 watts, or “one third the amount of power of a standard hair dryer” and a tenth of what a similarly sized traditional A/C unit would use. Spokesman Rick Gillan says the unit is large enough to cool 3,000 square feet occupied by about 20 people — the size of a small business — and can be powered completely by a small array of four photovoltaic panels.
Also appealing is the idea that the air conditioner itself can help boost the output of the solar panels powering it: In the heat of summer, when solar panels operate at lower efficiency, ducts from the A/C route exhaust air their way. The exhaust air is warmer than that being delivered to the rooms below, but cooler than the untreated outside air, so it helps the solar cells operate closer to their maximum efficiency.
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Labels: conservation, energy, homes, solar
PermaLink - Coolerado Claims Solar Powered Air Conditioner for Power Conservation
