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21 Comments
- friend18, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17That's awesome. That could potentially save massive amounts of energy in the hotter months.
- Topher06, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Now, all we have to do is wait 30 years before we see a product, and we will be set.
Honestly, how many miracle technology is announced everyday, and then 6 months later forgotten?
I want to believe this will work and be a viable product in like 5 years, but I am still waiting for my OLED television and hydrogen powered Hummer. - aramova, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12If it works, it would be the ideal use for it. When do you use your AC the most? Hot sunny days...
When do you get the most effect out of Solar power? hot sunny days...
What uses the most power for a house? AC, on hot sunny days....
God I hope this stuff works, I'll take two 3 ton units please... - wistar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I saw a lovely OLED viewscreen on a Sanyo camcorder the other day.
- bigfkncee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6as a new yorker who has seen a bagillion power outages during the summer months because everyone is O-D-ing on ac usage, i think thats incredible.....but i bet keyspan(our local power company) wont be very amused........can any1 say "lost revenue"?
- BitSlash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So basically, instead of pumping condensation back into the boiler, they heat it hotter than the boiler and use it's pressure to shoot back in? That's what I got out of it.
- khag7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4thats convenient
- LFAB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They use a two stage process with an intermediate temperature source instead of a motorized single stage cycle. The venturi and the associated static pressure drop is their pumping mechanism.
You're going to have to have a pretty big Sterling system to generate the same amount of electricity at a lower temperature (~150F) as a fuel-burning system (~1000F). Also, I'm thinking that the venturi is not going to produce much pumping pressure compared to a standard compressor. To cool your house, it's going to have to be a lot bigger than your A/C unit is today. Still, I'm sure that there will be applications for it; just don't expect to see it in a Home Depot near you... - LowenSoDium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Pppfff... Like that backyard is good for anything but growing grass!
- DarkSorrow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it too big and bulky, it could take the entire backyard. this better be the prototype
- bigfkncee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2of course its a prototype.....you put that on top of your house the roof will cave in
- BufordT, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I agree it is a great idea, but is the picture at the top of the page a picture of the contraption? If so, I hope this is just a prototype. That thing looks like something Uncle Jessie would hide out in the woods.
- vertigoblue, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2wow that was hard. my mothers house is on solar, and she has airconditioning, so i guess she has had solar powered AC for 8 years now...
- goatbag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Not hotter than the boiler, but to a higher pressure. Plus the recaptured water has gravity on its side.
- david76, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My favorite quote from the article, "watch the animation here, we've watched it three times and can't figure it out."
Very cool technology. - merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It doesn't work quite as well for mid-west states like missouri. The humidity is so high, it can be an unberable 90 degrees out, and completely overcast.
- amoebaelvis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0How is this better than an ammonia cooling system?
- merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"Seriously all you need is a solar array hooked up to some car batteries and a swamp cooler to come up with Solar powered AC"
"Some car batteries" would power a swamp cooler for all of about 5 minutes. If you do the math, a roof covered in solar panels just barely generates enough electricity to power A/C for a home -- solar panels are very inefficient (12% on average, 20% for top of the line). This solution, on the other hand, is probably more efficient -- it's a sterling engine, which is theoretically close to 100% efficient.
Sterling Energy is currently producing solar powered sterling engine-based generators that boast 30% efficiency -- twice that of your average solar panel. - BufordT, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Interesting how they spend time on creating a nice animation of the process, but the actual picture of the product has a toolbox on top of it (great for promoting product reliability and ease of use), and is resting on an old rusty 50 gallon drum. These guys must be good!!!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Well......I'm actually crossing my fingers that someone will one day invent a Solar Powered Flashlight.
- Mrkamikaze, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2What next a solar powered Heater! Seriously all you need is a solar array hooked up to some car batteries and a swamp cooler to come up with Solar powered AC
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