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What You Should Know About Solar
Cooling At first glance,
solar cooling looks like an oxymoron. However, the same energy that
can provide heat in the wintertime can also provide cooling during
the summer.
Several passive cooling systems have been developed and tested. At
their simplest, they rely on a coolant that absorbs and dissipates
heat from the house. This could be a pool of water on the rooftop
which absorbs seat from the inside of the house as it evaporates on
exposure to the sun.
More sophisticated passive solar cooling systems have a solar
collector which is shaded during the daytime. A storage medium
collects heat during the day and dissipates it at night by exposing
the solar collector to the cool night air.
Since the solar collector must be shaded, a retractable awning or
overhang extension can be installed. Since the system can be
reversed in the winter months, it is important that the solar
collector can be exposed to sunshine if needed.
Solar panels can also be used to operate traditional air
conditioners. As it happens, the periods of intense heat correspond
to the periods of peak electricity production from photovoltaic
cells. As long as you have solar panels which generate sufficient to
electricity, you can operate air conditioners at no cost.
Solar cooling that does not take advantage of high technology is
another possibility. The Romans used a system of running water to
cool down exterior walls of their houses. The heat of the sun causes
the water to evaporate and dissipate the heat within the house. This
kind of system can be used on walls or on rooftops.
Heating and cooling are two of the biggest expenses for most
households. Using solar energy to reduce this expense makes sense
financially as well as ecologically. The less dependent we are on
fossil fuels for heating and cooling the cleaner the environment
will be
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