Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro Ecological cooling: some innovative solutions to overcome the challenges of traditional air conditioners
Common air conditioners have trapped us in a vicious cycle: when it gets hot, we turn on the AC, which increases energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming. This is a real issue that requires practical but sustainable solutions. This so-called air conditioner paradox is something a new system developed by Harvard scientists aims to overcome.
Inefficiencies in standard cooling systems
Standard air conditioning systems cool and dehumidify simultaneously but ineffectively: in their process of condensing water from the air, they end up cooling more than necessary. For this reason, more and more companies are working to develop eco-friendly and economical solutions.
The ancient evaporative method revisited
Experts, like Harvard University’s cSNAP team, are working to improve the ancient evaporative method, a very simple and effective system. In some parts of the world, such as ancient Persia, people built clay towers with solar chimneys that circulated air and water, significantly lowering the temperature of environments. Unfortunately, this technique has a significant drawback: it works well only if the air is dry, because if it’s too humid, the water doesn’t evaporate and doesn’t cool.
Harvard’s innovative solution
Researchers have thus invented air conditioners that use a special barrier allowing heat to pass through but not humidity.
“We are reinventing air conditioners to meet the growing demand for global cooling while combating climate change. Our evaporative cooling technology, called cSNAP, uses material science and advanced design to create eco-friendly, economical, and sustainable air conditioners that work in most climate zones without using synthetic refrigerants.”
Commercial innovations by Blue Frontier
At the same time, companies like Blue Frontier are experimenting with commercial air conditioning systems that combine a desiccant with evaporative cooling. The company’s CEO, Daniel Betts, explained its operation in detail:
“Our system uses a liquid saline solution that absorbs moisture from the air and makes it drier. Then, it splits the dry air into two streams that flow close together: one is cooled by re-evaporating the moisture, while the other stream is cooled by an aluminum sheet that transmits the cold but not the water. The saline solution is then regenerated with a heat pump that works better at night, when there is less demand for electricity, and can be stored for use during the day, when it’s hotter.”
Before these solutions can be offered to the public, they will face a series of technical and practical challenges. Therefore, it will still take some time before these technologies are ready for the market.
Both companies estimate it will take at least a few years to officially launch their products.
