I always thought that stand-alone appliances were very inefficient, energy wise I mean.
Problem:
Furnaces ( flue gas), Air conditioners (A/C) & Refrigerators all give off excess heat while cooling off the contents (air or food ) and on the other hand Hot Water Tanks then have to generate new heat to warm up water. What a waste.
Smart Solution:
What if we coupled the process?
In the 1980's after the first USA energy crunch , Sun Frost, a US firm that now makes the most energy-efficient stand-alone appliances on the market fiddled around with the concept of "Cold Weather Passive Assist Refrigeration"
According the their web site:
"If you live in a cold climate, your refrigerator is often running when the temperature outside is colder than it is in your refrigerator. A simple way of using the "coolth" from the outside to cool your refrigerator is by incorporating a heat pipe. A heat pipe is a passive device that transfers heat by evaporation and condensation. [ ] A heat pipe can be used to transfer heat from a refrigerator compartment to the outside. When the temperature is colder outside than in the refrigerator, the liquid in the refrigerator boils, absorbing heat and cooling the refrigerator compartment. The refrigerant then condenses outside and runs back to the refrigerator (see diagram). The pressure in the tube changes with temperature, so the liquid always boils when the temperature is colder outside than in the refrigerator. This device acts as a one-way thermal valve, if the temperature is hotter outside than in the refrigerator heat is not transferred into the refrigerator."
"In the mid 1980's we built about ten of these hybrid refrigerators. The models without a freezer compartment coupled very effectively with a solar system. Since during the winter when available sunlight is limited, the refrigerator is passively cooled and requires no energy to run. With our RF16, the freezer compartment consumes about 60% of the total energy consumed by the unit. During the winter, the heat pipe would decrease energy use by 40%. One of the passively cooled refrigerators is located at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado, where winters are long and passive cooling is effective.
Although these refrigerators operate effectively, sales were limited and we no longer manufacture that model."
See Sun Frost
Well maybe they were ahead of their time
Now PSD Technologies in Oxford Nova Scotia is incorporating that idea as part of their energy audits for clients and into their energy management control systems.
Dale Simpson, the founder of PSD Technologies recently told me in a meeting we had in Toronto:
"The concept we are currently working with is waste heat from an ac unit to help heat the domestic hot water." divulged Simpson.
"As you know, anything that uses energy in a building, is never 100% efficient. There is always some waste. What we are trying to do is to take this waste and harness it as a renewable energy source."
Simpson explains: "While I was in the Bahamas doing an energy audit, I noticed that the bulk of electricity residential users were consuming, were for their domestic hot water and their AC units. Both these appliances use electricity. Back in our shop we devised a method to harness this waste energy to heat the hot water. In the winter time we use the oil furnace flue gases to provide supplemental heating for domestic hot water."
"Using the PSD technology allows us to maintain peak efficiency for the heating of the electric hot water, using all three heat sources. Electricity, AC waste heat, oil furnace waste heat."
"Our early results are very promising, we have exceeded our target of reduced electricity consumption of 40%."
For information on PSD Technologies see here or contact Dale Simpson directly by email and please mention that you read about them on the Smart Economy Blog
Intelligence Level: Co-generation appliances
Intelligence Level (1) |
Adapting: |
Modifying Behaviour to Fit the Environment |
X |
Intelligence Level (2) |
Sensing: |
Bringing Awareness to Everyday Things |
X |
Intelligence Level (3) |
Inferring: |
Drawing Conclusions from Rules and Observations |
|
Intelligence Level (4) |
Learning: |
Using Experience to Improve Performance |
|
Intelligence Level (5) |
Anticipating: |
Thinking and Reasoning about What to Do Next |
|
Intelligence Level (6) |
Self-creating, |
Ability to reproduce itself, regenerate |
|
Intelligence Level (6) |
Self-organizing |
Ability for components to self-organize |
|
Intelligence Level (6) |
Self-sustaining (A) |
Ability to replicate components |
|
Intelligence Level (6) |
Self-sustaining (B) |
Ability to process information |
|
Intelligence Level (6) |
Self-sustaining (C) |
Ability to steadily consume energy from the environment |
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Expert, Consultant and Guest Speaker on emerging Smart Technologies, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Lateral Creative Thinking and author of an upcoming book on the Smart Economy "
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