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This 'Cold Tube' can beat the summer heat without relying on air conditioning:
"Air conditioners work by cooling down and dehumidifying the air around us—an expensive and not particularly environmentally friendly proposition," explains project co-lead Adam Rysanek, assistant professor of environmental systems at UBC's school of architecture and landscape architecture, whose work focuses on future energy systems and green buildings. "The Cold Tube works by absorbing the heat directly emitted by radiation from a person without having to cool the air passing over their skin. This achieves a significant amount of energy savings."
The Cold Tube is a system of rectangular wall or ceiling panels that are kept cold by chilled water circulating within them. Since heat naturally moves by radiation from a hotter surface to a colder surface, when a person stands beside or under the panel, their body heat radiates towards the colder panel. This creates a sensation of cooling like cold air flowing over the body even if the air temperature is quite high.
Although these types of cooling panels have been used in the building industry for several decades, what makes the Cold Tube unique is that it does not need to be combined with a dehumidification system. Just as a cold glass of lemonade would condense water on a hot summer day, cooling down walls and ceilings in buildings would also condense water without first drying out the air around the panels. The researchers behind the Cold Tube conceived of an airtight, humidity-repelling membrane to encase the chilled panels to prevent condensation from forming while still allowing radiation to travel through.
A new cooling system for your home?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday August 20 2020, @10:55PM (3 children)
Nifty, and cheaper than the ones I was looking at... still, would work best for radiant heating/cooling if exposed. I think these are made to underlay concrete for hot water systems.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday August 21 2020, @02:27PM (2 children)
I've mostly seen them tacked up under wooden floors- between joists, up flat against subfloor. Again, these kinds of things are more common at higher latitudes like mine.
I'll have to think about this whole thing a lot more, but condensation seems like a huge problem for any chilled surface inside a structure. TFA talks about treated surfaces. I almost remember something about a coating that resists water, maybe ionically repels water? Not even sure if that's possible. Drip drip drip.
My personal preferred system, and they exist, would involve an air to liquid heat exchanger with fan and temp. control for each room. Water / anti-freeze would circulate to a central heating / cooling system, often located outside. That system can take or give heat to rooftop panels (which could radiate heat away at night), ground loop, air, graywater, underground thermal storage tanks, whatever.
The master heat pump doesn't need an efficiency-robbing refrigeration reverser- just a control system with solenoid valves to control what goes where. 2 master heat pumps might be needed, or would be more efficient- one for higher temps and one for lower temp ranges.
Control system is the fun part. :)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday August 21 2020, @04:13PM (1 child)
In a home you could probably control the mold better - my entire high school was air conditioned using a chilled water system, no opening windows anywhere, about 2 acres of flat roof. I had chronic bronchitis for 4 years, only cleared up in the summer months, and when I went to college it disappeared permanently.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday August 22 2020, @01:18AM
Legionella...