Inhabitat calls it the "World's first solar powered air conditioning unit", as does the Shandong Vicot Air Conditioning Company. That is a rather grand statement, given that another Chinese company, BROAD, has been doing it for years , and there are direct solar powered air conditioners installed from Brooklyn to Dubai.From the looks of it and the description, it appears to be a direct-fired absorption system, where the reflector supplies heat that vaporizes a refrigerant, which absorbs heat when it condenses. Propane fridges work this way. According to SolarServer, "The company claims an 85% thermal cooling efficiency and the ability to deliver 24-hour continuous cooling, heating and hot water. If there is not enough sun, it can run on natural gas. Since the unit generates heat, it can also supply hot water and heating. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be sized for domestic use. More at InhabitatIf It's The First, What Are These?One of the reasons we have been so dubious about Dubai is the energy consumption required to keep people cool there;

they even air condition the beaches. But if there is one thing they have lots of, it is sunlight; best floor air conditioning unitsthat's why we have always considered solar powered air conditioning the holy grail that will make places from Dubai to Phoenix sustainable.residential ac unit rental Some concepts just make sense- like when the developer of a solar powered pontoon boat pointed out-"Since most recreational boating is done when the weather is nice, solar power is particularly well adapted to the task." ac unit for busWe were thinking that way while looking for a solar powered air conditioner- when do you need it? When it is hot and sunny. We looked at Justin's SolCool but we knew that natural gas fired AC units or propane fridges existed and thought heat is heat- there must be one somewhere, and put google to work.

This is the first of a series- the Direct-Fired Absorption system.More in TreeHuggerWe continue to be fascinated by the idea of a solar powered air conditioner, particularly after reading this in Alternet. Until central air became common, Florida and Arizona were barely habitable- you went in winter and cleared out. Now 20% of our energy goes to power air conditioning, and it defines the peak loads. 5.5% of our gasoline goes to power our car air conditioning, and four southern states-California, Arizona, Texas and Florida, account for 35% of it. Clearly if we are going to use less energy we have to address this problem. So here is a challenge to all you Lifehacker and Make types- build it for us. And not a lame ice-cooled pretend air conditioner but the real thing. Here are some ideas and parameters: More in TreeHuggerAsks an Australian if they've been busy or not, and they might reply, "Mate, I've been flat out. Like a lizard drink'n." Colin Gillam, CEO of Alternative Fuels and Energy may well give just such an answer regarding his Sun Lizard solar heating/cooling project.

Especially as he has been working on it for the past 16 years. His persistence finally paid off when last month he was scored both the judge's vote, and the people's choice vote on the ABC New Inventors TV show. We are intrigued by the idea of solar powered air conditioning; it is just so logical as you need it most when the sun is blazing. Right now the heavy-handed approach is to spend a lot of money on photovoltaics to run conventional units; there has to be a lower cost, more efficient way. More in TreeHuggerFor years we have been saying that solar powered air conditioning just makes sense- if you are boiling in Phoenix the sun is probably shining really hard. We have seen big units, evaporative units that won't work in humid climates, a few vaporware units and even home-made absorption chillersNow it looks like a Spanish company, Rotartica, has put it all together, by combining evacuated tube thermal collectors with a water-heated absorption chiller, and sized it at 4.5Kw (1.28 tons) for residential use, all packaged in a neat little box.

More in TreeHuggerFinally a Workable System to Replace Current Energy Guzzling A/Cs?In 2007 we covered a Coolerado A/C system with the headline "getting close to solar powered air conditioning". Back then, the unit produced 5 tons of cooling using 1,200 watts, getting within the range of what some people and small businesses could afford in solar panels. Now, the new Coolerado design can produce 6 tons of cooling using 600 watts, quite an impressive improvement! Solar-powered air conditioning just makes so much sense; it is usually hottest when the sun shines brightest. Now piano maker Steinway has installed an 80 ton absorption chiller that is powered by hot water from tracking solar panels. In the winter, the solar collectors provide water for heating.Compare Keep cool--mini portable 6W 12 volt smallest air conditioner with cooled mattress Zhengzhou Minsta Commerce And Trade Co., Ltd. US $58-79 100 Sets Transaction LevelShow All ItemsIn this instructable i will show you how to make an air conditioner(cooler) from cheap stuff that you get from any store.

Step 1: Parts needed...Show All ItemsParts: -A plastic box -A 2.5'' pvc 90' elbow -A small car fan -A small piece of PVC tube -Pipe Clamp-Some cable tiesTools: -A knife -PVC Glue« PreviousNext »View All Steps DownloadSummertime is already in full swing in New York, and with that comes the dreaded air conditioner install, first dragging it from the depths of the closet (if you're fortunate enough to have one), then struggling to get it into your window, mounted and sealed—all without dropping it out the window and killing someone with it in the process. The struggle is real. For anyone who has ever experienced that, there's a new, dreamy AC unit that will come like a breath of cool air (sorry). Noria is a super sleek, smart, connected air conditioner that sells itself as easy to use and beautiful to boot.The product is the brainchild of Kurt Swanson, an engineer with a background putting processes in place for producing aircrafts at Boeing and Carson Helicopters. He prototyped the first designs for Noria in a shared co-working space, Nextfab, back in 2012, personally building over 5 heat exchanger demonstrators, while optimizing the design and math models to determine the final form factor.

For the final production, Swanson teamed up with Likuma Labs, a creative engineering and industrial design firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Noria doesn't just look better—it's actually less than 6 inches tall and 40% smaller than existing units, while achieving 5,000 BTU cooling capacity. "[Swanson's] previous experience as a mechanical and aeronautical engineer at Boeing helped him approach the tough optimization problems involved in taking a 5,000 BTU window air conditioner to less than half the normal size," says Devin Sidell, co-founder of Likuma Labs. "We've seen this with a few other products, including Nest, where a mundane object that no one ever paid much attention to finally had some light shed on it in terms of how users interact with it," Sidell says. "Window air conditioners were created out of necessity with no considerations made regarding the design, just function. There are some smaller units out there but they never addressed the real issues people had with them.

We knew it couldn't just have a pretty face plate or be just another IoT product, as with Aros. It really came down to the user experience."The design for Noria was the result of over two years spent studying the design and engineering of these units, pushing the boundaries of how small an air conditioner could get without sacrificing performance. "Everything about existing window air conditioners had to be thrown out the window and rethought," Sidell says. The design was guided, in part, by a range of mathematical modeling and optimizations performed by Sidell's team, allowing them to use the available heat exchange surface area and airflow in the unit in a more efficient way than traditional window air conditioners. "Ultimately, we were able to achieve the same amount of cooling power while utilizing smaller heat exchangers," Sidell says. "Comparable 5,000 BTU window air conditioners weigh about 40 pounds in comparison to Noria's approximately 30 pounds."As for the more outward aesthetic elements, Sidell and his team were also focused on simplifying the experience for the user.

"What if everything was controlled by just one knob?" "And, how can we make this thing easier to install without the user breaking their backs? We focused on what we would want if we could have the ultimate window air conditioner. Ultimately, behind every design decision was a very simple goal—building the first window air conditioner that users could love. Inspiration for the design came from many places including aerospace, automotive and household electronics."Creating the desired airflow proved to be one of the biggest challenges for the team, who designed Noria to blow cold air upwards to mix with the warm air below as it falls, removing warm spots in the room while preventing cold air from being recirculated. "Well over 1,000 hours have been spent optimizing the fans and their housings to arrive at the greatest efficiency possible," Sidell says."The next big issue was user installation, which is perhaps the largest painpoint with existing window air conditioners," Sidell says. "Noria had to be easy, safe and straightforward for a single person to install, remove and store.

We solved this with Noria's form factor, front handle placement, as well as general ergonomic considerations, in conjunction with the window frame adapter which works incredibly well for single or double hung windows."Part of the genius of Noria is the sealed socket that is installed prior to the device. A special window frame adapter allows it to easily slot into any window frame, creating a secure, sealed space to add Noria, which also touts an easy to carry handle, making it easy to position the device into the socket. "We also knew that for this project to be successful, Noria could not look anything like what people are used to seeing," Sidell says. "It had to captivate people. We aimed for an iconic design that could be easily integrated into the home without becoming an eyesore." Like other air conditioning units, Noria is primarily painted metal with a bit of UV-resistant plastic. The internal components such as the fans, compressor and heat exchanges are to be made out of the standard materials for those parts, and Likuma Labs will be using an ozone-friendly R410a refrigerant as the coolant.

All materials will be in compliance with Underwriter Laboratories' requirements for rain, corrosion and UV resistance. Inside, Noria utilizes a vapor-compression refrigeration system like most other refrigeration and AC systems, and accordingly includes the same basic components such as a compressor, fan, heat exchanger, refrigerant and basic electronics. "However, we have custom designed the specifications of those components to optimize performance," Sidell says. And, of course, like any product produced in the modern era, Noria can be connected to your smartphone, allowing users to set up weekly schedules and control the device straight from a synced application. At the launch of their Kickstarter campaign, Sidell and his team had gone through several stages of prototyping, and were in the last phase, working with vendors and suppliers in the US and overseas to source and manufacture critical components like the heat exchangers and the compressor. "A lot of what is under the hood is the subject of our pending patent applications, and we are still in the process of developing further improvements for future iterations of Noria.

We have several pending patent applications on our technology and design, and are still growing our intellectual property portfolio," Sidell says. "Our outside vendor confirmed our heat transfer performance as well with their model, and we've been working with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) through the safety certification process."Sidell and his team have the crowdfunding game on lock. While they wrapped up their official Kickstarter campaign earlier this month, they're currently continuing to raise funds on Indiegogo, where they've hit a combined total of $1,604,684 raised to date—that's more than 5 times their original funding goal. Those interested in pre-ordering a Noria can head over to the Indiegogo and back the campaign for $299 plus shipping, saving a hundred bucks off of the estimated retail value for the device. Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misreported the total funds that Noria has raised on crowdfunding platforms, stating that the project raised $1,467,498 on Kickstarter and a separate $1,567,078 on Indiegogo.