Friday, May 10, 2013

Solar Air Conditioners - Several Things Still to Consider But Environment-Friendly Options


When it comes to selecting an air conditioner for a house, many people have opted for the conventional air conditioners. However nowadays as more and more people are becoming concerned of the environment and the effects of global warming, opting for environment sensitive means of cooling a house or a building is being preferred by a growing number of people in the form of solar air conditioners.

These air conditioners are solar-powered and thus relies on the sun to be operated. Solar energy is being converted into electrical energy to power these units. With that being said, they are effective to use in areas receiving abundant sunlight. People in such areas can take advantage of maximizing the utilization of sunlight to lower down their electricity bills with the use of solar air conditioners.

Apparently, solar air conditioners are operated through solar thermal energy conversion, passive solar and photovoltaic conversion where in sunlight is being converted into electrical energy. They function either actively or passively. Active cooling systems are further sub-divided into two categories namely the solar desiccant units as well as solar absorption units. Thermal collects exist in solar absorption units functioning to absorb the solar heat and utilize it for dividing the mixture of the refrigerant and the absorbent fluid. When the separation has taken place, the refrigerant is condensed then evaporated. The entire process produces cool air that brings the room temperature at a lower preferred level.

Meanwhile, passive cooling does not make use of solar thermal energy to straightforwardly make a cool environment or drive whatever straightforward cooling. Instead, the rate of heat transfer into a building during summer is being slowed down thereby enhancing the elimination of unwanted heat. This is what is entailed in the solar building design principle.

Currently, the use of solar-powered air conditioners is continuously being studied to find out how they could be made available for household consumption because unfortunately they are still not a cost-effective option and are solely dependent to sunlight in order to function appropriately. Homeowners might find opting for them still not that convenient.

Conversely when considering their positive effect on the environment, they are very preferable to use but in terms of usability and costs, they are still not adaptable for the most number of households. Therefore, only those who can afford them can make use of them. Nonetheless, using solar-powered air conditioners are perceived to cut down electricity bills within a year.

Evidently, the use of solar-powered air conditioning units is a good alternative in cooling houses and buildings while ensuring that there would be no negative environmental effects. Using them is one way to effectively conserve the environment for the future generations. When considering the disadvantages of opting for such air conditioning units, it appears that they are not as convenient to have as compared to the other kinds. However, the advantage of having air conditioning units that are not causing significant damage to the environment makes the effort of opting for them worthwhile.

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