Commercial Services
In short, air conditioning urgently needs an upgrade. The basic cooling technology behind air conditioning and refrigerators hasn’t changed significantly since 1902, when a young American engineer named Willis Carrier devised the first air conditioner to solve a humidity problem for a printing company in New York City. It is no hyperbole to say that air conditioning has shaped our modern world—and will continue to do so well into an unprecedented climate future. In countries with fast-growing economies and already-dangerous levels of heat and humidity—such as India, Indonesia, and Brazil—billions of people will soon buy their first home air conditioner. Whether they’ll be able to afford climate-friendlier units—or the pollution-heavy models that have long dominated the market—hangs in the balance.climatisation Making sure that this wave of new customers can afford more-efficient air conditioners is the motivation behind the Global Cooling Prize. Strategically, the prize focuses not on the central air systems common in U.S. homes, nor on window units, but on a single-room air conditioner similar to those commonly installed in apartment buildings in India, where the competition will take place. In November 2019, eight finalists were announced for the $1 million competition to design a room air conditioner that produces five times less greenhouse gas over the course of its lifetime than does a standard room unit. Launched in 2018, the competition is sponsored by the Indian Department of Science and Technology, part of the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology; the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI); a coalition of 24 additional countries; and Richard Branson, founder and CEO of the Virgin Group. The prize aims to accelerate the development of air conditioners that use dramatically less energy together with climate-friendlier coolants. If such a technology were rapidly deployed, it could prevent up to 100 gigatons of CO2-equivalent emissions by 2050, RMI estimates. The winning unit must cost no more than twice what a standard room air conditioner costs and must keep people cool in the sweltering heat of an apartment block in Delhi, India, where the heat index—a measurement of how hot it feels—can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. After receiving in November $200,000 to refine their proposals, the eight teams are now racing to build prototypes that will be shipped to India for testing in fall 2020. it helps to picture the basic system that Willis Carrier invented—and that we are essentially still using today. It is known as the vapor-compression cycle, explains Clark Bullard, a mechanical engineer and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois. In its most stripped-down form, it consists of two metal coils, one located inside the space to be cooled, one outside. A liquid refrigerant circulates through the coils, alternately evaporating and condensing under varying pressure. As the refrigerant vaporizes, it gets cold and chills the metal coil inside the room. When it reaches the outdoor coil, the refrigerant condenses, ejecting heat into the air before beginning the next cycle. Meanwhile, a fan blows over the cold metal coil, cooling the air and removing humidity as water condenses on the coil like droplets “on a cold beer glass,” Bullard says. To understand the chal