Solar Powered Air Conditioners?
11% of electricity in America is used for air conditioning, a lot of it in hot, sunny locations. That’s why we have followed the development of affordable solar powered air conditioning; it just makes so much sense and would save so much energy, often the dirtiest peak load stuff.
Now the Chinese company Gree , the world’s largest producer of residential air conditioners, has announced production of solar powered air conditioners that send excess electricity back into the grid.
Xinhua reports that the first 50,000 units will be sold in the American market.
The air conditioner, independently developed by Gree, mainly uses solar power, using normal electricity only when solar power is inadequate, said Huang Hui, chief engineer of Gree Electric Appliances. The American government is supporting efforts to send excess solar energy to local power grids, and so the model should be popular in America, said Huang.
A second generation unit, beginning production in January, will be 100% solar powered, “and will achieve real environmental friendliness.” There is no description of how the unit works or what its cooling capacity is, but we will update as more information is released.
via Ecofriend
