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Water-cooled airconditioning systems (WACS) use evaporative cooling to chill air which is circulated around buildings. The basic mechanism is a water pump connected to a spray nozzle array that sprays a mist of water over a heat exchanger. If you've seen these units working, you can see unevaporated
water cascading down the inside to be recycled. This has to be inefficient to some extent, though WACS are already much more efficient than conventional compressed gas A/C systems.
Ultrasonic humidifiers produce "cold steam" by sonically atomising water with a relatively low-power (a few watts)ultrasonic transducer. They are believed to be more efficient than a heated humidifier or a spray unit (and safer and more compact too).
I want to combine the two and create an ultra-high efficiency, compact, silent (in the audible spectrum) air conditioner. Enhancements would include a fresh-air blower to increase air flow through the evaporation chamber.
I am fairly sure this idea is novel. I have subsequently found a link (provided) to an ultrasonic atomizer cooling unit for a furnace. The link describes also household humidification, but does not make the connection to its use in air conditioning. I have found no links to the system I describe in the application I propose.
Warmair.com
http://www.warmair....pass_humidifier.htm
Ultrasonic evaporative _furnace_ cooling [FloridaManatee, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]
Humidifirst - Mist-Free Ultrasonic Humidifier Specification
http://www.humidifi...ee/mistfreespec.pdf
"The humidifier shall consume no more than 33 watts (units?) per pound of humidification" [FloridaManatee, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]
Solar AC Idea
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Solar_20AC
My inspiration - yes, air conditioning does use too much power [FloridaManatee, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
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Annotation:
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I've seen WACS in some of the most humid of Asian climates. But true, the efficiency does go up tremendously as humidity declines. |
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I had this in mind for [Vid_Pro], the guy with the Solar A/C idea, who lives in California, although it doesn't meet his specifications of a system that uses solar power without transduction. |
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a. Isn't the mist too thin and won't it already evaporate before reaching the heat exchange surface (wall or roof) |
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b. If not, wont it be too thin a stream to cool the wall/roof at heat of day (where even a real sprinkler has water sizzle away. |
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c. I understand heating/cooling physics, but always have a problem "grasping" the full picture: Could you please help with the following question: If I have a roof which is cooled with this device, wouldn't it be better for me to have LESS insulation between roof and hours, so that the energy from the house is taken out by the cooling of the steam assisted by the energy of the sun? Is this correct? Would it be better to have even a BLACK roof? (so that sun energy is maximized) Or is it a question of numbers: certain amount of heat in house, certain amount of heat absorbed in roof, certain amount of heat taken by vapor? |
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Or maybe the external (solar / roof ) heat is not playing any part, and I could be srpaying on the shaded wall, in which case I should paint the roof white, and try to shade it with trees? |
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d. I have a caravan which needs to be cooled, I might just try this out. Thanks! |
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I live in the desert and would broil without my swamp cooler. So would all my neighbors. These units are already modest in power consumption, most of which is in the air blower, not the water pump. Likewise for the noise. |
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Also, ultrasonics are already used for spraying things - see
http://www.ultraspray.com/company/technology.htm |
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That said, this idea could be interesting for a mini hand held personal cooler. |
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