Solar collector for air conditioning at home. Solar air conditioners Types of solar air conditioners and their design
There are several types of air conditioners that use solar energy in one way or another in order to reduce or completely eliminate the consumption of electricity from the network. The principle of operation of such devices, called "solar air conditioners", and will be discussed in this article.
Despite some absurdity of the concept of "solar air conditioner" (traditionally the sun is associated with heat, and air conditioner - 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: if there is sun, you need cooling, if not, there is no need for cold.
Solar air conditioners with desiccants
Usually, about 30% of the useful refrigeration 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 due to the fact that the temperature of the evaporator is below the dew point of the air coming from the room, can be avoided by either increasing the temperature of the evaporator or lowering the dew point. The first method leads to less efficient air cooling, and therefore requires an increase in its consumption. In addition, excess moisture from the air must still 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 desiccants (desiccants) are active solar air conditioners and have increased energy efficiency due to non-condensation. Moisture is removed from the air stream by desiccants in front of the evaporator. Thus, a dried air mass with a dew point below the evaporator temperature enters the evaporator, which ensures that condensation does not fall out.
A desiccant (this could be silica gel, for example) rotates on a disc. Having absorbed moisture from the internal air, the desiccant is carried out with a disk to a space open to the rays of the sun, where the absorbed moisture is evaporated. Thereby, the desiccant is regenerated and the disc returns it to contact with the internal air.
In addition, we note that with the above-described scheme, on sunny days, the air dehumidification mode does not require the activation of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner, which leads to significant energy savings: electricity is spent only on rotating the disc with the desiccant.
Another example of active solar chillers are absorption chillers that use solar heat. As you know, in absorption machines the working substance is a solution of two, sometimes three components. The most common binary solutions of an absorber (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, heat energy is required (as a rule, waste heat from enterprises is used), which is supplied to the generator, where an almost pure refrigerant boils off from 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 sites, since only there is enough waste heat.
At the same time, in absorption solar air conditioners, the thermal energy supplied to the generator is obtained from the sun. This makes it possible to expand the field of application of absorption machines and use them not only in the industrial sector. Considering that the thermal energy received from the Sun is free of charge, the efficiency of such solutions in operation is obvious.
Photovoltaic Solar Air Conditioner
Photovoltaic solar air conditioners work 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 are being successfully operated in various countries.
On a more modest scale, solar panels are used to supply power to small objects, for example, cottages: from the photovoltaic panels installed, as a rule, on the roof, electricity is obtained, which is consumed for domestic needs.
Even less often, it is proposed to power various equipment from solar panels. Considering that unlike the other household appliances air conditioners are used precisely on sunny days, it would be logical to connect the air conditioner to the solar battery.Similar solutions are already offered by many foreign manufacturers of air conditioning equipment, for example, Sanyo, Mitsubishi, LG. However, it is obvious that the air conditioner, being energy-intensive equipment, will require the placement of sufficient a large number photovoltaic panels. Therefore, different manufacturers use solar panels in different ways: for powering only fans, for partial power supply of an air conditioner, or for its full power supply.
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 are powered by direct current. In normal mode, the current is drawn from the photovoltaic panels, and in the absence of the sun, through a rectifier from the building's power grid.
However, we note that the efficiency of modern photovoltaic panels does not exceed 25%, which cannot be called efficient energy conversion. Even though crystalline silicon fusion batteries have been developed with up to 43% efficiency, more than half of the energy is still lost in the conversion process. This is why it is believed that photovoltaic solar air conditioners are inferior in efficiency, for example, absorption.
Sustainability as a solar air conditioning engine
Today, much attention is paid to the environmental friendliness of certain solutions. Particularly acute environmental issue stands in the area of air conditioning.
While sunny climate systems are still not widely used. However, the focus of global efforts on reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and increasing prices for traditional energy sources 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 brine.
Yuri Khomutsky, technical editor of the magazine "CLIMATE WORLD"
Good afternoon. We are starting experiments on using solar energy to create a refrigeration unit. Since there is a lot of sun in the summer, there is nowhere to put it. Hot water supply doesn't bother us much. We are interested in a solar-powered air conditioning system for a home.
Video blog "Odessa Engineer"
What are the parts in a solar air conditioner
We will use an ammonia refrigerator, its compressor section, and a unit as a refrigeration machine. Crystal 404 is an old Soviet apparatus. Disassembled, removed. How does he work? There is a ceramic heating element, electric power 100 watts. When heated, the reaction of ammonia and water occurs. Different boiling points. If we heat up in that place, we get cooling. I checked it, turned it on electrically, it works. Therefore, it was decided to use it.
Assembling the collector parts for cold
What's the challenge? They pulled out the heating element, the tube above and below, heat it up to about 150 degrees. The boiling point of water is 100 degrees, the pressure here, we'll 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 the stainless steel was put here, it was left from our experiments. Instead of a vacuum tube, a pipe was installed. 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. Although the sun rose a little. Although it was understood up to 89. This is not enough, it is most likely necessary to reduce the diameter of the pipe, the losses are large, the stainless steel cannot cope. We need a little power - 100 watts. But the temperature, preferably at least 120-130 degrees. The turning drive was not installed here. Tracking was also not installed, in general, it is all elementary. We rotate the cog 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 all that remains is to slightly alter the solar system so that in the summer it works as a cooling system for central air conditioning at home. Where the water in the radiators is cooled. We'll 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.
At latitudes less than 45 degrees. a huge amount of electricity is expended on the production of cold. At the same latitudes, the energy of the Sun produces up to 6 kW / hour of energy per 1 square meter per day. For comparison, a typical home refrigerator consumes about 1 kW / hour of electricity per day, and a standard room air conditioner consumes about 8 kW / hour 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 operate the refrigerator is obviously unprofitable. Low efficiency, regular change of batteries, natural aging of silicon and high cost, any refrigerator will be unprofitable. As for solar-cooling absorption plants 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 = 85-90 degrees. required for the operation of lithium bromide plants can be obtained by a conventional flat vacuum solar collector. Ammonia-water absorption refrigeration units are much more efficient, but their operation requires a temperature of the order of T = 180-200 degrees.
It goes without saying 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 and the tracking system for the sun. In the standard version, the tracking system and reflector are quite expensive items, but in reality this is not the case.
Figure 1 shows an example of how Indian inventors construct a shape close to a parabola out of handy materials. Then this form is poured with liquid clay and brought to a parabolic shape using a template. After the clay has dried, the surface is covered with cling foil and the free solar concentrator is ready! The smoked copper tube placed in focus allows heating the coolant up to 300 degrees.
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| 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 to the surface of a parabolic shape. So there are no problems with hubs. By the way, if the focus of the one and a half meter "dish"
place a liter kettle, then the water in it boils in 8 minutes. The creation of a solar kitchen is also a very promising direction, however, this is a completely different topic.
A sun tracking system can also be very cheap if it is passive. That is, the reflector will rotate in time behind the Sun with the same angular velocity, which in the conditions of today's electronics is implemented in an elementary simple and very cheap way.
In any case, it is necessary to 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 will be. The supply of solar thermal energy can be carried out using heat pipes or a heat carrier. However, some inventors use optical fibers to supply solar energy. This idea is> overly 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 feed.
If you need cold all the time, and the Sun does not constantly shine, then the heater should be supplemented with other alternative energy sources. It can be wind, river or sea wave. Catalytic heaters running on gas or petrol can also be used as a reserve. In catalytic heaters, the fuel burns without flame. 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 "cooler bags" based on Peltier elements operate on a car battery, but in fact consume the same gasoline, only in much larger quantities.
It should be noted that absorption water-ammonia refrigerators, released 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 forget about it 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 a farm, this volume is clearly not enough, but as a demonstration or laboratory sample, this volume is quite enough.
| Rice. 3 |
Compared to absorption refrigeration units, compression refrigeration units are more economical and more efficient. In the simplest version, a pneumatic or hydraulic motor can be used to convert a refrigeration compressor to alternative energy, which in turn will operate from the total energy of the Sun, wind, river, etc.
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| Fig. 4 | Fig. 5 | Fig. 6 |
In Fig. 4,5,6, respectively, are shown: 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 manufacture, 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 energy sources that are also used to create cold.
A common disadvantage of all the above compression schemes is that first we convert the alternative energy into rotation, and in the compressor the rotation is converted into reciprocating piston movement (Fig. 11). Too much energy is wasted on this. Another disadvantage is that if the compressor rotation shaft seal is broken, its tightness is lost, and therefore its performance.
Alternative energy is much easier to convert into reciprocating motion using a diaphragm drive. PTFE diaphragms (fig. 9), made on the basis of NEOPREN or EPDM, operate in a wide temperature range and can be used both in a pneumatic diaphragm actuator and in the freon circuit of a refrigeration compressor. Membranes can make millions of cycles, so that's enough for our age.
Fig. 9 
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
The main advantage of the diaphragm actuator is that it has no leaks, no seal and no lubrication required. It works on the "Do it and forget it" principle.
During serial production, the body of the membrane device is made by stamping with a low degree of accuracy. So the stamped body will not be much more expensive than a tin can. It can also be made from polymer materials that are not afraid of corrosion.
All of the above developments are installations with guaranteed performance, since they are manufactured on the basis of used serial units. However, this is only a very small part of refrigeration units that can be offered for production. For inventors and engineers, refrigeration technology at alternative sources energy, this is the richest field for creativity. A refrigeration compression machine converts mechanical energy into a temperature difference, A refrigeration machine made "vice versa" allows the temperature difference to be converted into mechanical energy, that is, on its basis it is possible to produce low-grade heat engines, which in turn can be used to recover excess heat or to operate from geothermal energy sources. In addition to absorption and compression methods of cooling, there are other very interesting areas. So for inventors and engineers, this is an inexhaustible amount of work.
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Tips for saving energy on air conditioners: According to the China National Energy Efficiency Management Method, EER refers to the ratio of refrigeration capacity and power consumption, which is only the data used to evaluate energy-saving air conditioners than it is more. It saves electricity. If there are two alternating currents with the same power consumption, the one with the higher power is better at saving electricity.
Performance characteristics
High efficiency, energy saving, convenient and money saving, exceeding the national first class energy standard.
Robust and durable, smooth running.Low-loaded compressor to extend its duration.
Healthy and comfortable, constant temperature and disease management from the air conditioner.
This is not a frequency conversion of the air conditioner, but surpasses it, because the type conversion starts to save energy when the indoor temperature reaches the set value, and the hybrid solar air conditioner operates in an optimal state immediately after starting and achieves the sanme effects of traditional air conditioner with less energy consumption.
Super luxurious look will decorate your home.Indoor panel adopts aluminum alloy and lug metal color board to make your home more sparkling.
Automatic opening and closing of dust-free air outlet.
Easy to install, just like a 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 types of environment.
High performance Japanese brand compressors
Strong and durable, smooth running. Low load operation of the compressor will 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 Silent as an example) the heat exchanger, the effective area increases by 20-40% more than V-shaped and flat heat exchangers, thus cooling and heating the effect has improved significantly.
High quality inner tube copper thread
Compared with ordinary copper pipe, the heat exchange area of the internally threaded copper pipe is greatly increased in the same exchange effect. At the same time, it can resist glaze and increase the original capacity at low temperatures.
Hydrophilic aluminum foil to prevent the appearance of water in the bridge, so as to ensure the efficiency of heat transfer.
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