Heat engine

 Ok, I lights, TV, water pumping, refrigeration propane for now soon PV,
outside lights, security all mostly done with solar power. Soon I will
have my solar hot water system done. NOW, I want air conditioning.
I wonder if it is possible to build a heat engine with enough power to
drive a AC compressor at a price I can manage. If so, what type would
you suggest. Use Dauphin Island Alabama as the location.
I need a stationary unit buildable with mostly salvagable parts to keep
the cost low. So, no high cost design ideas please.
I  can do Mento Wonder wheel or a Sat dish parabolic reflector with
tracking. What do you guys think? Whats the best way to go with this
thing. Any and all ideas appreciated.
Offgridman

 
How about buying a small compressor, like a 1/3 hp tankless, or even a
12V unit, and a very air tank? What kind of use do you have in mind?

By the way, just recently I became a proud owner of a monster (to me)
compressor, a Curtis 80 gal compressor that is taller than me.

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/CurtisCompressor/

I paid $350 for it, including pressure regulator and hose.

i

 

Refrigeration will be a tough one considering your limitations.

The only thing I can think of is gas fired a/c. Burns a flame to make cold
air. Ya I know what your thinking. My first home in Phoenix had such a unit.
Servel makes one

A few years back I was looking into a/c for my home and I found a a/c
compressor that could be run on propane. It had a 7 hp Briggs engine that
turned over the compressor. I did not want the noise so I passed.

Your dish ideas will not work as they are not big enough.

If your out there you could start snooping for an old absorbsion unit that
used NH3. I personally would not want to deal with it anymore.

 

Giovoni, B.
Passive & lowenergy cooling of buildings.
1994
Van Nostrand Reinhold

Or if you prefer I can scan the article I have on subsidence towers for
passive cooling and email it to you.

George

 

NREL data indicate July is the worst-case month for AC in Mobile, when
1770 Btu/ft^2 hits the ground on an average 82.3 F day with a 73.2 F min
and humidity ratio w = 0.0169 pounds of water per pound of dry air.
Very humid...
 

The techniques in that book won't help much. Baruch Givoni's 1998 Climate
Consderations in Building and Urban Design has more on design for hot and
humid climates, but that book won't help much either, compared to serious
air conditioning.


That won't help, in humid climates. Offgridman might enjoy ceiling fans
and an airtight house with a LiCl solar still on the roof, which might
also heat water for showers. I could help, if he wants to get into that.
We've proposed another all-day workshop on solar heating and natural
cooling for the 2005 ISES/ASES conference in Orlando in August. It would
be nice to have a working example of this new liquid desiccant technique.

Nick