Claims new technology saves 90% of energy

Calling it revolutionary, the Danish entrepreneurial company AC-Sun has announced developing a new technology, which it claims turns solar heat into air conditioning with minimal use of electrical power, thereby saving 90% of energy.

With a combination of low pressure turbines and using water as refrigerant, this patented technology is able to create efficient cooling from solar heat, explained Nils Olsen, CEO at AC-Sun.

The company further elaborated the process involved: The system consists of two separate circuits. In principle, the driving circuit is the same as on a power plant. Heat creates steam that drives a turbine, but in this case, the temperatures and pressure are lower; since the circuits operate under vacuum, steam is allowed to be generated at low temperatures. The cooling circuit is similar to that of a refrigerator, except here the media is water. To make water work as a refrigerant, the pressure is also very low in the cooling circuit.

According to the FORCE Institute, the technology used by AC-Sun will save 86% on CO2 emission compared to an average conventional air conditioning unit.

The company has listed the following benefits of the technology:

• About 90% of the energy used for cooling comes from “free” hot water, for example, from a solar panel, from cooling water from machines, or from district heating water.
• Electrical power consumption is only 10% of a conventional system.
• No chemical cooling media such as CFC, HCFC or others are used – only water.
• The surplus heat from the process, which is not re-utilised in the system, can be used for other purposes, for example, heating of water for the household.
• The price of a system will only be marginally higher than the price of a conventional system.

According to AC-Sun, it is financed by Insero Horsens and Østjysk Innovation, and that it is currently looking for technical partners who want to commercialise this patented technology, thereby taking it from prototype to finished product.