Solar Powered Air Conditioning

OK I can see that many of you have a LOT of questions regarding this particular topic so let us begin by clarifying  just exactly what is a solar powered air conditioner. Solar Air Conditioners in a nutshell are today’s newest technology version of the swamp cooler only far more advanced. Long ago people in the southern tier states of the US learned that by passing water across a fan blown radiator they could take advantage of what we know to be “Evaporative Cooling”, which is the same principle that was used in earlier processes of refrigeration. When water evaporates from any surface that surface will in effect become much cooler than the surrounding ambient air temperature.

Now that we understand the basic principle of evaporative cooling we can move forward to the an in depth explanation of how and why a solar powered air conditioning unit works and its cost benefits. These systems use approximately 4 gallons of water per hour depending upon just how hot the ambient air temperatures are because the more evaporation that takes place the cooler these systems operate. Considering that ambient temperatures or more to the point the outside temperatures do literally all of the work of cooling the air in the conditioning unit and the water used also humidifies the air quality the end result is what we call ‘Comfort Air”.

Benefits to this system are numerous and will have a deep impact upon air conditioning systems and how we cool our homes and offices for decades to come. The first benefit I would like to mention is the fact that these systems require absolutely NO chemical refrigerants as it is the Evaporative Cooling that does nearly all the work of cooling the air in your home or place of business. Secondly, because they utilize water as a thermal medium the air that is pumped through your air ducts is at the perfect comfort level with regards to humidity especially in arrid climates. The most impressive benefit to these systems is the because all of the cooling work is being done by evaporation the over all energy required by the entire system is 90% LESS than that of a conventional air conditioning system! Yes you read that correctly! I said 90 percent LESS! An average conventional air conditioner for your home requires approximately 6000 watts of power to function per hour while these systems will operate at full capacity on a mere 600 watts.

Just to put all of that into perspective with an example you can probably relate too let us consider the standard hand held blow dryer that most women use on their hair. These will use up to 1800 watts if you have one of the newer models with the multiple fan settings, and the C60 solar powered air conditioner that Global Team Direct sells, installs and services will operate on 1/3 of that energy. So up until this point I have been informing you on all the principles of the evaporative cooling and power requirements of this system and you are probably wondering, “OK, well what about the whole SOLAR part of this system”? Given that our power requirement to operate these systems is so low we can very easily employ 4 – 200 watt solar modules which will provide all the power this entire system will ever need!

Now I will come full circle and explain the final part of this fantastic system and why it is important to use the solar option with it. All air conditioners produce exhaust air and although the air coming out of a conventional system is always hot, the air which is exhausted from this new technology is very cool. Solar panels which are generating the power which feeds these systems will generate far more power at cooler temperatures below 150F but those of us who actually work with solar panel systems already know that if left to their own in the suns heat of the day they can get much hotter than this 150F range thus reducing their power output ability by as much as 15%. So here is what we do. Utilizing duct work from the exhaust port of the air conditioning unit we direct this cool exhaust air to a plenum that is fitted across the entire surface area of the back side of the solar panel array thus keeping the panels which are generating the operational power to the air conditioner much cooler in the suns heat which provides you with an additional 20% of energy generation capacity from your solar array.

So lets recap! Zero chemical refrigerants, the ability to be powered 100% by solar, cool comfortable air in your home or office, and the hotter the temperatures get the more efficient these systems function saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year on air conditioning costs! Any questions?