[Robotgroup] A real NAAC for Cooling. WAS: ...HVAC and Solar Energy

Tue May 20 09:44:32 PDT 2008

====>   TheRobotGroup.org List Archive Context:
Vern's (Residential Geothermal HVAC and Solar Energy)  Mon May 19 10:26:11
PDT 2008
  new Dripping Springs house RFC and the many replies including.....

Vadim (Re: Residential Geothermal HVAC and Solar Energy) Mon May 19 18:46:24
PDT
said:
>   Incidentally, there is general agreement in the industry that scaling up
an ammonia cycle,
>   as used in gas-powered refrigerators, is not practical for various
reasons, including
>   serious safety concerns.

And brooks (electroroof) Mon May 19 21:05:56 PDT  said:
>   When I was on battery power I was thinking of getting a peltier device
to experiment
>    with making a roofing panel segment that would be solar cells on one
side and chillers
>    on the other. Looking at the specs for the solar power/per sqft vs
peltier drain/per sqft
>    lead me to doubt it would work but someday maybe it will be like the
structural
>    insulated panel with built in thermal inverters.

====> Nanoscale Ammonia Absorption Cycle (NAAC) solar coolers Background
FAQ:
     Ammonia Absorption is the dominant industrial refrigeration technique
today due to its
outstanding efficiency.   Residential air conditioning seldom uses AA due to
the fear of
poisoning residents with ammonia gas.   AA can operate on a temperature
delta without
compression.
    Nanoscale gas chromatographs exist today and are orders of magnitude
cheaper  and
in many ways far better than their fullscale gas chromatograph (spelled
"dinosaur")
ancestors.
     The Texas cooling season is here.   Energy prices are UUUUUPPPPPPP !

====>  Ancient History and Provenance:
  My paternal grandmother had an ammonia absorption refrigerator.   As a
four year old,
I found it "indistinguishable from magic" how a pilot-light-flame was able
to cool that box.
She also used to say that she was amazed that her refrigerator had "no
moving parts".
I do not know if that attribute was strictly true but it did not have a
motor nor a compressor
and was quite silent.
     Decades later (and at least a decade ago now) I heard that they were
going to build a
gas chromatograph at nanoscale.   I immediately flashed back to my early
childhood and
thought of an ammonia absorption refrigerator in nanoscale driven by solar
energy (with
some kind of encapsulated concentrator to get to "pilot light" temps in some
small volume
near the top.)  The cooling (absorption) area would be on the bottom,
thermally isolated
from the top.   Building the units into individual roof tiles would provide
a roof "hot on the
top and cool on the bottom."   Building these tiles self-contained
(independent of each other
and of  power/plumbing/control/etc. tethers) would mean nano quantities of
totally captive
ammonia and thus none of the usual ammonia safety issues.
     I have held this secret till now, thinking that some day I might get
rich off of the idea.
I am willing to risk broad exposure now because I have too many other
projects and
because I am feeling more mortal now than I felt then.   Now,  I hope
someone builds
them to help save the planet for my offspring.   If some credit or money
comes my way,
I will be pleasantly surprised.   I have not looked recently for prior art.
Maybe some
robot group member might like to pursue this search and draft a patent
application.
If someone does, I can be available for collaboration.   For brevity I did
leave out lots
o' stuff here, notably some moisture handling, orientation, and control
considerations.

====>  Bad Boys, Bad Boys, WhatChaGonna Do ?   A Call To Action:
     So, scale these bad boys down, not up, and use lots of them.   Use them
like brooks
was considering using pv and peltier since the efficiency should be way
higher than his
electrical pv-generator/peltier-refrig equivalent.  This is certainly an
idea whose time has
come.  Anyone out there with nanofabrication access ?  Anyone with
nanochromatograph
use or design experience ?   Anyone a refrigeration guru ?  Any intellectual
property prior
art searchers ?  Any other takers ?  Who Wants to Develop a Naac  for
Cooling ?

====>  OOPs.   Multiply Overloaded Symbols Warning.    What  Would==>Who
Wants
   Who wants to seek out funding ?     Anyone think we could sell WWDNC to
the DNC ?
Who Wants a Real Naac for Cooling ?   Anyone think we could sell WWRNC to
the RNC ?
See, I'll even let the politicos in on the action.   We could make up
distinctively shaped
sunfish logos like the DarwinFish.  They might have little feet and
iddy-biddy black footprints
trailing behind.    Get those politicians to pony up for something less
disruptive than corn
ethanol.   Get them into a funding competition for NAAC solar cooler
deployment.

Bruce Waters