Photo: Wenbin Wang / KAUST 2021
Millions of people in the world don’t have access to electricity, and they have to battle high temperatures which make food storage and comfortable living more difficult. But the sun can become part of the solution, instead of being the enemy, thanks to a game-changing technology developed by scientists.
Would it be possible to enjoy the same benefits as those provided by modern air conditioning, in the middle of the desert, with no infrastructure? A team of researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, is working on an innovative cooling system that only uses water, a certain type of salt, and solar power.
This off-grid solution that requires zero electricity to provide cooling effects similar to those of air conditioning could be implemented in areas where there are no other alternatives for coping with high temperatures. This system doesn’t involve any electrical components, just chemistry.
In the first phase of the two-step system, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is dissolved in water, creating a powerful cooling effect. The second part has to do with regeneration – solar power is used to dissolve the water, so that the salt can be reused multiple times.
The project, led by Dr. Peng Wang, an environmental science and engineering professor at KAUST, tested the system in a lab environment, using a metal cup inside a polystyrene foam box. The cup’s room temperature dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) and stayed below 15 degrees (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for over 15 hours.
Fast Company reports that the next step, according to Dr. Wang, is to build an experimental unit, the size of a fridge or perhaps smaller, to further test the cooling concept. One of the most interesting applications of this solution could be to replace the regular water used in waterbeds with water that has the special salt in it, for an innovative cooling mattress. The only downside of this system would be the cost of water, which is a rare and expensive resource in impoverished areas with no access to electricity.
This sustainable cooling system is still in the early stages of development, so it can only be implemented on a small scale in the near future. But it’s a promising start, and a great way to use the sun’s power for good.
This off-grid solution that requires zero electricity to provide cooling effects similar to those of air conditioning could be implemented in areas where there are no other alternatives for coping with high temperatures. This system doesn’t involve any electrical components, just chemistry.
In the first phase of the two-step system, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is dissolved in water, creating a powerful cooling effect. The second part has to do with regeneration – solar power is used to dissolve the water, so that the salt can be reused multiple times.
The project, led by Dr. Peng Wang, an environmental science and engineering professor at KAUST, tested the system in a lab environment, using a metal cup inside a polystyrene foam box. The cup’s room temperature dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) and stayed below 15 degrees (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for over 15 hours.
Fast Company reports that the next step, according to Dr. Wang, is to build an experimental unit, the size of a fridge or perhaps smaller, to further test the cooling concept. One of the most interesting applications of this solution could be to replace the regular water used in waterbeds with water that has the special salt in it, for an innovative cooling mattress. The only downside of this system would be the cost of water, which is a rare and expensive resource in impoverished areas with no access to electricity.
This sustainable cooling system is still in the early stages of development, so it can only be implemented on a small scale in the near future. But it’s a promising start, and a great way to use the sun’s power for good.
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