Absorption Refrigeration Systems: Principles and Advantages of Cooling

The idea of using an absorption fluid as a refrigerant carrier derived from the drawback of VCR (vapor–compression refrigeration) systems that the gas compression requires a high work input. A pump that requires practically no work to increase the pressure in the refrigeration system replaces the complicated and work-consuming compressor. There are two major advantages of absorption refrigeration systems (ARSs) compared with VCRs (vapor–compression refrigeration): No CFCs or HCFCs are used as refrigerants, and they use heat from different sources, such as combustion, industrial processes, waste heat (an economical solution for recovery), or solar heat. (more…)

Climate Trends: Warming Trends and Variations

Climatologists generally agree that there is accumulating evidence that a warming trend has been occurring since the mid-1960s. There are rather distinct seasonal and regional climate variations in the lower 48 states of the United States. Livezey and Smith determined that the average national warming trend has been 0.0151F per year. Since 1964, this implies that average annual temperature has increased by approximately one-half of one degree. (more…)

Natural Cooling and Passive Heating System for Energy Efficiency

Several passive heating systems, if provided with proper ventilation, can ensure to provide cooling. Passive heating and cooling for houses can be done in several ways, one of which is called geothermal energy. Passing the water through pipelines via ground can achieve and distribute the heating and cooling all over the house. (more…)

Heat-Actuated Heat Pumps | Energy Application of Micro Technology

Heat-actuated heat pumps are cooling systems requiring no electricity for operation. Rather, a heat source is used, avoiding the need for batteries. This consideration is critical for portable applications because on a weight basis, a stored liquid fuel has anywhere from 35 to 300 times the energy content of batteries, depending on the battery technology considered. Thus, although the simple solution of combining an electric motor, a battery package, and a vapor compression refrigerator may sound appealing, it actually suffers a severe volume and weight disadvantage when compared with a heat-actuated system. (more…)