We are all so used to the fact that our lives are filled with various electronic and electrical devices that we can no longer imagine life without them. But once our ancestors did very well without air conditioners, radios and other devices. But today, what has already been invented is not enough for humanity, every day it improves what has already been created. And the instruments we all know are being transformed into something else. For example, a solar-powered air conditioner. It is based on the air conditioner familiar to us, but it does not work from the central power grid, but from the sun.

What other devices can work using solar radiation, we'll talk about this. But you need to understand that, in fact, the principle of operation of devices does not change, only the energy sources that are used for their operation differ. Therefore, we can only talk about innovative technologies, and not about new developments.

What are these "solar" devices ...

Any devices that consume a small amount of energy can work on a solar battery. Flashlights, solar-powered calculators, garden lights and other useful devices are very popular. But more “gluttonous” units are also known, for example, bicycles, cars and even airplanes. Of course, they are not used everywhere, but there are such prerequisites, and this is already half the battle.

But let's look more specifically. Many simply cannot imagine their life without music, but it is not always possible to enjoy your favorite composition. Of course, no one canceled mp3 players, but if you are not alone, but in a company, this already becomes a problem, especially if you go somewhere in nature and there is simply no way to connect speakers. It is for these music lovers that Roberts has created a solar-powered digital radio. They called it SolarDAB, in addition to the advantage of using the energy of the sun, it has other advantages:

• It is possible to connect an mp3 player.
• A special screen displays information about the SB charge.

The SolarDAB radio on a single battery charge can work for about 27 hours, and its cost is about $160.

But this is not the only such device. For about $70, you can get a Bresser National Geographic radio. In addition to the radio, this device includes a clock, an LED flashlight and an alarm clock. And what is most useful, you can charge this radio not only from the sun, but also from the network, and even on the principle of a dynamo, using a special handle. And yes, the price is very reasonable.

The next example is solar powered fans. They are also represented on the market by various companies. One of them is Solar Fan with LED. The advantage of this model is the presence of an LED flashlight. Depending on the operating mode, it can work for 8 hours if the fan is on, or 20 hours if the flashlight is on. In the sun, a 2000 mAh battery will charge in 8-12 hours, and from usb in just 6-7. Only $70 and this fan will be yours.

In addition to this model, you can purchase a solar-powered mini fan, a Solar powered mini fan, or a Maplin device that combines a fan, an alarm clock, a flashlight and a battery that allows you to charge other gadgets from it. On sale there are even caps on which a mini propeller is installed, designed to blow the face. The only negative is that there is no possibility of using other energy sources, and, of course, the battery, too.
The following video shows fans that do not require electricity to operate:

Window thermometer, air conditioning and more…

Next on the list is a window thermometer, there is one, don't be surprised. A similar thermometer on a solar battery costs about 700-1500 rubles. Depends on model and manufacturer. For example, the picture on the left shows a RST digital window thermometer. In addition to temperature, this model shows humidity and determines the maximum and minimum temperatures for the last day. This thermometer is attached to the outside of the window with a special Velcro.

Another example is the TFA window thermometer. It has the function of automatically backlighting the display at night and the ability to work not only from solar energy, but also from a conventional finger-type battery. But its price is 2 times more than the previous model.

An interesting example of a solar-powered calculator is the Chinese model, made in a transparent case. It has an auto-off function and a built-in battery. True, its price is not very small - about 1800 rubles. But the appearance is very unusual, only for this you can buy it.
And finally, I’ll tell you about how our article began - about air conditioners. There are 2 varieties:

• Active, that is, those that use directly the thermal energy of the sun.
• Passive, that is, those that run on electricity obtained using solar panels.

An example is the development of Hong Kong inventors, who presented a similar device to the general public last year. Solar panels are made of black photovoltaic cells, they can be placed on the roof and the split system is ready to use. Their Australian colleagues do not lag behind them, the sample presented by them is powered by SB, producing 70 W / h. And the built-in batteries during daylight hours accumulate energy, which is enough to operate the air conditioner at night.

Now you know that not only devices such as a radio or a calculator can work from the SB, but also various household items, such as a fan or an air conditioner. Stay tuned and stay up to date with the latest developments in solar energy. And it will definitely help you reduce your energy bills.

The article was prepared by Abdullina Regina

There are even scales on Sat:

At latitudes less than 45 degrees. a huge amount of electricity is spent on the production of cold. At the same latitudes, the energy of the Sun produces up to 6 kW / hour of energy per 1 sq. m per day. For comparison, a typical home refrigerator consumes about 1 kWh of electricity per day, and a standard room air conditioner consumes about 8 kWh per day. In general, it makes sense to think about how to use free solar energy to get cold and thereby reduce your energy costs.
The idea of ​​using solar panels to run a refrigerator is obviously unprofitable. Low efficiency, regular battery replacement, natural aging of silicon and high cost will make any refrigerator unprofitable. As for solar-refrigeration absorption units based on lithium bromide, they have proven themselves quite well, including as air conditioners.
The production of such installations can be mastered by a fairly small manufacturing enterprise with low financial costs. Temperature T \u003d 85-90 degrees. necessary for the operation of lithium bromide installations can be obtained by a conventional vacuum flat solar collector. Water-ammonia absorption refrigeration units are much more efficient, but their operation requires a temperature of the order of T = 180-200 degrees.

Of course, that such a temperature can only be achieved with the use of a solar energy concentrator. If we are talking about a solar reflector, then it is necessary to resolve the issue of the sun tracking system. In the standard version, the tracking system and the reflector are quite expensive products, but in reality this is not the case.
Figure 1 shows an example of how Indian inventors construct a shape close to a parabola from handy materials. Then this form is poured with liquid clay and brought to a parabolic shape using a template. After the clay dries, the surface is pasted over with food foil and the free solar concentrator is ready! A smoked copper tube placed in focus allows heating the coolant up to 300 degrees.

Fig.1 Clay solar concentrator
		Fig.2

Very good solar concentrators can be made from television "dishes" (Fig. 2) and from ordinary small mirrors glued onto a parabolic surface. So there are no problems with hubs. By the way, if the focus of a one and a half meter "plate"

place a liter kettle, then the water in it boils in 8 minutes. Creating a solar kitchen is also a very promising direction, however, this is a completely different topic.

A solar tracking system can also be very cheap if it is passive. That is, the reflector will turn in time behind the Sun with the same angular velocity, which in today's electronics is implemented simply and very cheaply.

In any case, we should strive to create refrigeration units with the participation of solar concentrators, because the greater the temperature difference, the higher the efficiency, the more economical the installation as a whole. The supply of thermal solar energy can be carried out using heat pipes or a coolant. However, some inventors use optical fibers to supply solar energy. This idea > super promising, however, it still needs to be thoroughly worked on.

The simplest solar-powered refrigerators can be made from standard absorption refrigerators by replacing the electric heater with a solar liner.

If you need cold all the time, and the Sun does not shine all the time, then the heater should be supplemented with other alternative energy sources. It can be wind, river or sea wave. Catalytic heaters powered by gas or gasoline can also be used as a backup. In catalytic heaters, flameless combustion of fuel occurs. An absorption refrigerator with a volume of 40 liters with a catalytic heater will consume 8-10 grams of gasoline per hour. Such refrigerators could find demand from motorists and food suppliers. The existing "refrigerator bags" on Peltier elements are powered by a car battery, but actually consume the same gasoline, only in much larger quantities.

It should be noted that ammonia-water absorption refrigerators, produced 50 years ago, continue to work to this day and are not going to break, which indicates their ultra-high reliability. Therefore, if you need to have a constantly cooled room, then such an installation can be made once and forgotten about for a long time.

Figure 3 shows a 40-liter household absorption refrigerator converted to alternative energy sources. The refrigerator will work if there is at least one source of energy left. For the economy, this volume is clearly not enough, but as a demonstration or laboratory sample, this volume is quite enough.

Compression refrigeration units are more economical and more efficient than absorption refrigeration units. In the simplest version, a pneumatic or hydraulic motor can be used to transfer the refrigeration compressor to alternative energy, which in turn will work from the total energy of the Sun, wind, river, etc.

Fig.4	Fig.5	Fig.6

Figure 4,5,6 shows, respectively: a low-speed refrigeration compressor, an automobile compressor and a pneumatic (hydraulic motor) from which it is quite easy to make a refrigeration unit.

In order to make, for example, an air conditioner using alternative energy, you can use a ready-made car air conditioner (Fig. 7). The same hydraulic or pneumatic motor is used as a drive (Fig. 6).

A refrigerator for fish products with a low-speed refrigeration compressor (Fig. 4) is best made on a floating offshore platform (Fig. 8). Here wind, sun and sea swell are additional sources of energy that are also used to create cold.

A common drawback of all the above compression schemes is that first we convert alternative energy into rotation, and in the compressor, rotation is converted into reciprocating piston movement (Fig. 11). This wastes too much energy. Another disadvantage is that if the seal of the compressor rotation shaft is broken, its tightness is lost, and hence its performance.

Alternative energy is much easier to convert into reciprocating motion using a membrane drive. PTFE membranes (Fig. 9), made on the basis of NEOPREN or EPDM, operate in a wide temperature range and can be used both in a membrane pneumatic drive and in a refrigerant compressor freon circuit. Membranes can make millions of cycles, so that's enough for our lifetime.

Fig.9

Fig.10

Fig.11

The main advantage of a diaphragm actuator is that it has no leakage, no seal, and no need for lubrication. It works on the principle of "done and forgot".

The case of the membrane device in mass production is made by stamping with a low degree of accuracy. So a stamped case will turn out not much more expensive than a tin can. It can also be made from polymeric materials that are not afraid of corrosion.

All of the above developments are units with guaranteed operability, since they are manufactured on the basis of used serial units. However, this is only a very small part of the refrigeration units that can be offered for production. For inventors and engineers, alternative energy refrigeration is the richest field for creativity. A refrigeration compression machine converts mechanical energy into a temperature difference. A refrigeration machine made “on the contrary” allows the temperature difference to be converted into mechanical energy, that is, it can be used to produce low-potential heat engines, which in turn can be used to dispose of excess heat or to work from geothermal energy sources. In addition to absorption and compression cooling methods, there are other very interesting directions. So for inventors and engineers, this is an inexhaustible amount of work.

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Energy Saving Tips for Air Conditioners: According to the China National Energy Efficiency Management Method, EER refers to the ratio of cooling capacity to power consumption, which is the only data used to evaluate energy-saving air conditioners, the more it is. It saves electricity. If two ACs with the same power consumption, the one with more power is better in saving electricity.

Operating characteristics

High efficiency, energy saving, convenient and money saving, exceeding the national first class energy standard.

Sturdy and durable, smooth running.Low loaded compressor work to extend its duration.

Healthy and comfortable, constant temperature and disease control from air conditioning.

It is not a frequency conversion air conditioner, but superior to it, because the type conversion starts to save energy when the room temperature reaches the set value, and the hybrid solar air conditioner runs in the optimal state immediately after starting, and achieves the sanme effects of traditional air conditioner with less power consumption.

Super luxurious look will decorate your home.Indoor panel adopts aluminum alloy and metal drawing color board to make your home more sparkling.

Automatic opening and closing of dust-free air outlet.

Easy to install, just like traditional air conditioner.

With strong adaptability, Chuanglan hybrid solar air conditioner can operate at very low and high temperatures from -7℃ to 53℃.

Exceeding national standards and applicable to all kinds of environment.

High performance Japanese brand compressors

Strong and durable, smooth running. Low load operation of the compressor extend its duration.

Four times heat exchanger

As one of the main components of the air conditioner, Chuanglan hybrid solar air conditioner adopts four times the heat exchanger (take the Supreme Quiet as an example), the heat exchanger effective area is increased by 20-40% more than V-shaped and flat heat exchangers, thus cooling and heating effect has improved significantly.

High quality inner tube copper theme

Compared with ordinary copper pipe, the heat exchange area of ​​the female threaded copper pipe is greatly increased in the same exchange effect. At the same time, it can resist glaze and increase the initial ability at low temperature.

Hydrophilic aluminum foil to prevent water bridge, so as to ensure heat transfer efficiency.

There are several types of air conditioners that use solar energy in one way or another to reduce or completely eliminate the consumption of electricity from the network. The principle of operation of such devices, called "solar air conditioners", will be discussed in this article.

Despite some absurdity of the concept of “solar air conditioning” (traditionally, the sun is associated with heat, and air conditioning with cold), it is quite understandable, because it is on a sunny day that the need for air conditioning is greatest. Thus, it would be quite logical to tie the operation of the air conditioner to the sun: there is sun - you need cooling, no - there is no need for cold.
Fundamentally, solar air conditioners can be divided into two groups.

Representatives of the first, active solar air conditioners, use solar energy directly - as heat. In turn, passive solar air conditioners use the energy of the Sun, converted, as a rule, into electricity.

Solar air conditioners with dehumidifiers

Typically, about 30% of the useful cooling capacity of an air conditioner (and in some cases up to 50%) is wasted - on the formation of condensate, which is then simply drained into the sewer.

Condensation, which occurs when the evaporator temperature is below the dew point of the incoming air from the room, can be avoided by either raising the evaporator temperature or lowering the dew point. The first method leads to less efficient cooling of the air, and therefore requires an increase in its flow. In addition, excess moisture from the air still needs to be removed.

The second method - lowering the dew point of the air in the room - can be implemented in several ways, and one of them is to pre-dry the air supplied to the air conditioner.

Solar air conditioners with dehumidifiers (desiccants) are active solar air conditioners and have increased energy efficiency due to non-condensation. Moisture is removed from the air stream by desiccants before the evaporator. Thus, the dehumidified air mass with a dew point below the temperature of the evaporator enters the evaporator, which guarantees that condensate does not fall out.

The desiccant (this may be, for example, silica gel) rotates on a disk. Having absorbed moisture from the internal air, the desiccant is taken out by a disk to the space open to the rays of the sun, where the absorbed moisture is evaporated. The desiccant is thereby regenerated and the disc returns it to contact with the internal air.

In addition, we note that with the scheme described above, on sunny days, the air dehumidification mode does not require the inclusion of a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner, which leads to significant energy savings: electricity is spent only on the rotation of the disk with the desiccant.

Absorption solar air conditioners

Another example of active solar refrigeration machines are absorption chillers using solar heat. As you know, in absorption machines, the working substance is a solution of two, sometimes three components. The most common are binary solutions of an absorbent (absorbent) and a refrigerant that meet two main requirements: high solubility of the refrigerant in the absorbent and a significantly higher boiling point of the absorbent compared to the refrigerant.

To obtain cold in absorption refrigeration machines, thermal energy is required (as a rule, waste heat from enterprises is used), which is supplied to the generator, where almost pure refrigerant boils out of the working substance, because its boiling point is much lower than that of the absorbent.

Despite the fact that absorption chillers are a very promising area for the development of refrigeration technology, their use is usually limited to industrial facilities, since only there is a sufficient amount of waste heat.

At the same time, in absorption solar air conditioners, the thermal energy supplied to the generator is obtained from the Sun. This allows you to expand the scope of absorption machines and use them not only in the industrial sector. Taking into account that the heat energy received from the Sun is free, the cost-effectiveness of such solutions in operation is obvious.

Photovoltaic solar air conditioner

Photovoltaic solar air conditioners are based on perhaps the most obvious use of solar energy: powering the air conditioner from a solar panel.

Indeed, solar power plants using a renewable energy source - the energy of the Sun, have been known for a long time, and a lot has been said about them. A number of projects have already been implemented and successfully operated in various countries.

On a more modest scale, solar panels are used to supply power to small objects, such as cottages: from photovoltaic panels installed, as a rule, on the roof, they receive electricity used for domestic needs.

Even more rarely, it is proposed to power various equipment from solar panels. Considering that, unlike other household appliances, air conditioners are used on sunny days, it would be logical to connect an air conditioner to a solar battery. R.

Similar solutions are already offered by many foreign manufacturers of air conditioning equipment, such as Sanyo, Mitsubishi, LG. However, it is obvious that the air conditioner, being an energy-intensive equipment, will require the placement of a sufficiently large number of photovoltaic panels. Therefore, different manufacturers use solar panels in different ways: to power only the fans, to partially power the air conditioner, or to fully provide it with electricity.

In any case, a power cable from the mains is connected to the air conditioner, however, solar panels are given priority in terms of energy source. For example, GREE and MIDEA solar air conditioners use direct current to power them. In normal mode, the current comes from the photovoltaic panels, and in the absence of the sun - through a rectifier from the building's electrical network.

However, we note that the efficiency of modern photovoltaic panels does not exceed 25%, which cannot be called an efficient energy conversion. Even with the development of hybrid batteries based on crystalline silicon, whose efficiency reaches 43%, still more than half of the energy is lost in the process of its conversion. That is why it is believed that photovoltaic solar air conditioners are inferior in efficiency, for example, absorption ones.

Sustainability as the engine of solar air conditioning

Today, much attention is paid to the environmental friendliness of certain solutions. Particularly acute environmental issue is in the field of air conditioning.

So far, solar climate systems are still not widely used. However, the focus of world efforts on reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and rising prices for traditional energy carriers can be a good incentive for the development of solar climate technology.

It is obvious that the energy consumption of the air conditioning system with the parallel use of solar energy will decrease. In addition, the use of solar thermal energy can expand the scope of absorption refrigeration machines operating on safe working fluids - water or salt solutions.

Good afternoon. We begin experiments on the use of solar energy to create a refrigeration unit. Since there is a lot of sun in summer, there is nowhere to put it. Hot water supply is of no concern to us. We are interested in the air conditioning system of the house based on a solar collector.

Video blog “Odessa Engineer”

What are the parts in a solar air conditioner

We will use an ammonia refrigerator, its compressor part, and a unit as a refrigeration machine. Crystal 404 is an old Soviet apparatus. Dismantled, removed. How does he work? There is a ceramic heating element, electric power is 100 watts. When heated, the reaction of ammonia and water occurs. different boiling point. If we heat up in that place, we get cooling. It was checked, electrically turned on, it works. Therefore, it was decided to use it.

Assembly of collector parts for cold

What is the task? They pulled out the heating element, the tube up and down, heat it up to about 150 degrees. The boiling point of water is 100 degrees, there is pressure, let's see. Even if 150 degrees does not work out, we can warm up 120-130. We use a small solar concentrator, it remains, its dimensions are 1.10 by 80.1 square meter.

While stainless steel was put here, it remained from our experiments. Instead of a vacuum tube, they put a pipe. Why? It is difficult to make a circulation system with a coolant at a temperature of 120-130 degrees. Therefore, we will heat the iron pipe and make a transition so that the heat of the iron pipe is transferred to the refrigeration unit.

It stood in the sun. It's 79 degrees here. The sun has risen a bit though. Although it was understood up to 89. This is not enough, most likely, it is necessary to reduce the diameter of the pipe, the losses are large, the stainless steel cannot cope. The power needed is small - 100 watts. But the temperature, preferably at least 120-130 degrees. Here the turn drive was not installed. Tracking was also not installed, in general, it is all elementary. We rotate the screw and catch the focus.

The task is to transfer heat, this is heat, temperature to the refrigeration unit.

If we can physically do this, then it remains only to slightly alter the solar system so that in the summer it works like a cooling system, central air conditioning at home. Where is the water in the radiators cooled. We will probably put small fans and a cooler under the radiators. If possible, of course, we will make a photo panel so that it is generally non-volatile. Thus, we get an air conditioner that runs on the sun in summer and does not depend on electricity.