Solar Powered AC Is So Close To Perfection

By Evan Ackerman

It’s not very often that something like this comes along. In fact, I can’t even think of an example off the top of my head (give me a break, it’s midnight). But a solar powered air conditioner is almost, almost a perfectly harmonized gadget, in that it takes negative energy and transforms it directly into positive energy. You know, a whole Taoism/Taijitu thing. When it’s hot and sunny out, the SolCool Millenia takes that sunniness uses it to power the AC. The sunnier (and hotter) it is, the more cooling power you get, and when the sun goes down and you need less AC, well, you’ve got less AC. Oh wait, unless you live somewhere humid where the laws of nature suck and it doesn’t cool off much at night… But fortunately, the Millenia comes with 24 hour batteries, too. Come to think of it, I suppose it can be hot and cloudy at the same time. Sorry, I’m from Oregon where things make sense and it’s only really hot when the sun’s out. For the rest of you, the SolCool Millenia will be available next month for $3500 installed.

So, you might be asking, from whence would pure harmony be born? It would be this: an air conditioner powered by a heat engine. That’s right, the hotter the ambient temperature, the more (free) power goes to the AC. Day or night, humid or not, the hotter it is, the colder the AC blows. Simple, free, harmonious. Somebody clever should somehow make this happen.

[ SolCool Millenia ] VIA [ CNet ]