Industrial designer creates eco-conscious air conditioner

on Friday,June 18,2010 22:06

From architects planning rooftop gardens to engineers creating hybrid engines, much of the design world is caught up in the current trend of green living. Now a team of industrial designers working for the National Renewable Energy laboratory may have found a way to reduce the ecological impact of one of the worst polluters in the world - air conditioners.

Modern AC units utilize power-sapping components like condensers and compressors, which use a lot of electricity and produce harmful airborne contaminants. The researchers at NREL have done away with these elements and created a system that runs on an evaporative cooler as well as a dessicant that creates cool, dry air and uses up to 75 percent less energy than traditional air conditioners, according to CNet news.

"Having a drying technology and a cooling technology that we can control however we wish [lets you] now have better control over your air," Jay Burch, a scientist working on the project, told 9News in Colorado.

In addition to using less energy, the new system eliminates the need for dangerous choloflurocarbons (CFC) that are often used as refrigerants.