Solar Air Conditioner – An Answer to Global Warming
The way to solve a problem is to get to the cause. Why not use the very cause of unbearable heat to cool us down?
The sun is our primary source of day light and warmth. Did you know that the sunshine contains more energy than all the fossil fuels being utilized in the world? However, its rays are scorching nowadays due to the greenhouse effect. Innovations and inventions using sunlight are now expanding dramatically. This is how solar air conditioner came to be.
A solar air conditioner uses sunlight-driven electricity to function. The unit has evacuated solar thermal tubes or panels located on the roof of a building to collect solar energy. The thermal energy is cooled with Glycol, an antifreeze agent, in a solar powered absorption chiller. The chiller uses water cooled in three to five degrees centigrade. The cooled air is then distributed to pipes or ducts, pumps, and controllers. The system can run as a solar air cooler or as a solar space heater depending on climate. Such air conditioning unit can be used in any place where the sun shines.
There are many very good benefits of a solar air conditioner. Using it means low maintenance and operating costs. First and foremost, it makes use of a natural energy to operate. Thus, it consumes little to no electrical energy (the only components that use electricity are the fan motors and small water pumps. These components use just about a fifth of the total electricity. This provides significant cost saving efficiency! As a solar air conditioner operates, it simultaneously gives hot water. This means it can replace the electricity consuming water heaters. So it reduces your budget needs and saves you from breaking the bank. Another saving grace from solar air-cons happens on hot days when air conditioners are terribly needed. During sweltering seasons, people tend to abuse the air conditioner. In the case of conventional air conditioners, this means higher electricity bills because air conditioners consume the most electricity to effectively operate on such days. But with solar air cons, it operates using full power from the very reason of such heat – the sun. So even if the sun razes blisteringly, people can just stay indoors and enjoy the ‘coolness the sun brings’ without worrying about how big a bill they may have to pay.
Since the unit’s absorption air chiller is itself a cleaner, it dehumidifies the air too. A solar air conditioner is indeed safe and healthy to use. It is eco- friendly because it does not emit pollution and it does not make use of harmful refrigerants like Freon which are known to release chlorofluorocarbons, lethal toxins that deplete the earth’s ozone layer. Further, solar air conditioners function very quietly – another environmentally friendly feature it got!
The units suit residential, commercial, military, industrial, and government applications. All in all, the solar air conditioner helps everyone to cool down without causing a threat to the environment, and saves them against high electricity bills which conventional air conditioners give.