Two basics come to mind (and nothing about Gates' efforts). First of all, an A/C or heat pump is NOT an internal combustion engine. They don't "burn clean" and can get out-of-tune. It is a two-sided, closed loop heat exchange system (one on the inside and one on the outside). If you are concerned about the "greenness" of the freon, you are doing it completely wrong. NOTHING is supposed to leak into the atmosphere. Fix the damn thing if you are! The second, which I believe many of you are attempting to claim "greenness," is the amount of energy it takes to achieve your goals. In an apples-to-apples comparison, the more energy used, the more pollution (heat or point source power generation to drive the compressor) is generated. To me, THE best technology, and it has been around for a long time, is geothermal heat exchange instead of the conventional air circulation over coils outside your building. The basic problem with air (and it is easily understood in the winter and the heat cycle on a heat pump) is that it becomes increasingly less efficient when the temperatures outside get further away from your temperature goal inside. You have to heat up hot air in the summer and chill down cold air in the winter. Geothermal uses the constant temperature of the ground (when it is sufficiently deep) to keep it close to the target. The Florida springs are a constant 72 degrees, which is pretty damn close to your goal in both summer and winter inside your building.
I used water source heat pumps when I built my home in '83 and they were still effective when I sold late 90's. It was just a shallow well of about 25' and was discharged to a storm drain in front of the house. Agree completely and surprised more homes in Florida don't use it. In Tallahassee they use deep wells, and I would bet that about 30,000 tons of chillers use it for their condensers.
We looked at this on a large scale for island development with nearby deep water. Google OTEC, ocean thermal energy conversion. Hoping someone can make it work as the islands could really use it.
Oceans are used as heat sinks all the time, they require expensive stainless steel, or cupro-nickel heat exchangers, but it is old technology none-the-less.
There are already solar powered air conditioning systems for residential use. If Blue Frontier plans on storing energy then their air conditioner will more than likely come with a battery bank. Americans are funny about their air conditioning and if the American consumer can't get their house the temperature they want it regardless of the heat outside then there are problems. There are plenty of energy efficient options already available on the market today. The government also continues to increase the efficiency minimum. If you live in the Southeast region in January the minimum efficiency will be 15 SEER. There are also a ton of IAQ (indoor air quality) products already available today that kill mold, bacteria, viruses, etc.
I always wondered why people with pools and pool heaters don't make a system that works together. I see outside A/C units expelling heat right next to pool heaters expelling ice cold air. Seems like you could heat the pool with the waste heat off the A/C while using the water in the water in pool to cool the A/C condenser better than the hot air does.
They have hot water generators for your air conditioner where you can use that heat for hot water in your house. The problem/problems with all of these gimmicky energy saving solutions in, air conditioning, is they aren't cost effective, aren't dependable and take too long to get your money back (if ever) on the initial install investment. Bottom line is the large majority of people want cold or hot air installed for as little as possible.
No different than hybrid cars or even outright electric cars. Put solar electric power in that class also. If you are "Green" the costs are less important than the actual environmental impacts (real or imagined). Economically, some systems may never reach a RIO (new cars versus old cars that are paid for are notorious for that) but it does not mean there aren't fans of the New Car Smell. And yes, the government can "encourage" certain purchases (see hybrids and electric cars). But no one can crystal ball the future energy costs. If saving 1,000 KWH isn't financially prudent at one cost structure, it is likely to be at a higher one. I just know that the real saving of energy using a heat exchange substrate heavier than air is WAY better. But if you want to "poo-poo" technology trends, how about wind turbine power generation? Talk about a "feel-good" boondoggle!
This is the reason regulation is required on environmental questions, the “least cost” solution is almost never the environmentally friendly solution - or may even have substantial downstream effects society bears while the polluter profits from going cheap/least cost. This arrangement of “socialized costs” (environmental catastrophe taxpayers foot the bill on) but “privatized profits” is the unacceptable scenario you get in a deregulated environment. Innovation is obviously important as well, the govt shouldn’t pick winners per se, but I’m generally in favor of things like vehicle emissions requirements, fuel mileage (and getting rid of the stupid MPG fleet loopholes on truck sales). Things that move the private sector towards more efficient energy usage yet still leave it to them to innovate on technology. I have no idea about emerging A/C innovation, but maybe they need some “standards” to start benchmarking better efficiency?
I'm not "poo-pooing" technology trends. I'm saying there is already an abundance of high efficiency air conditioners and indoor air quality products in the air conditioning world. Inverter compressors, variable speed motors, VRF units, multi-zone units, solar units, zone dampers, duct sealer solutions, aluminum coils, micro channel coils or even something as simple as a hard start kit will reduce your energy consumption. Air conditioning options exist today where a homeowner can keep every room in there house a different temperature. No one uses the guest bedroom and you want to keep the guest room at 80 degrees while the master bedroom sits at 68 degrees, living area sits at 75 degrees, while the man cave stays at a solid 72 degrees all day long? No problem....and it can be done energy efficiently without hurting the environment. To think that Bill Gates is some sort of all knowing wizard that is some how "Dora the Explorer" and figured out some special air conditioner that air conditioning giants like Carrier, Daikin, Trane, Lennox, York, Midea, Gree, etc haven't thought of or looked at is comical. *Notice these companies I listed aren't restricted to America. These companies are international/global companies that are in a highly competitive market. The fact of the matter is Americans barely change their air filters every month and are only concerned with their air conditioner when they can't get their room to the temperature they want. The only way to change this is to provide dependable air conditioning with equal to or better comfort at a lower installation price with a lower operating cost.
sounds a lot like what the railroad said when the airplane was invented. new materials, advanced computing, is going to change lots of industries. This isn't a Gates invention, he's just investing in it. But the gubmnt held a wide open contest for very smart people and the tech that was overwhelmingly chosen as the most impressive is this alternative way of cooling the air. It will be a few years but I expect these to move into the commercial market first before the residential market
I’m not following the criticisms here. If you can reduce refrigerants by 2/3 or more, why wouldn’t you. Yes, they are in a closed system, but leaks are common.
The current SEER rating system does exactly that. The current minimum efficiency rating is a SEER 14 in the southeastern US. I believe it increases to 15 next year. Seasonal energy efficiency ratio - Wikipedia
Sounds a lot like how people said the Segway was going to change transportation. See what I did there? If you believe that the air conditioning industry is some sort of archaic industry waiting to be disrupted you are mistaken. AI is rapidly growing in air conditioning just look at Nest or Ecobee thermostats. I've already listed many energy efficient solutions that are currently in the market and that use less refrigerant and provide reliable, efficient air conditioning. Did you know that current refrigerants like R410A will be phased out starting at the end of 2023? Getting replaced with refrigerants with much lower GWP? If Blue Frontier wants to crack the commercial market they're going to have to reverse the current rapidly growing VRF system trend. But maybe Bill Gates has the Midas touch and has stumbled across a new way to provide reliable, dependable and efficient air conditioning. Time will tell.
I knew those existed (have had to replace several!), I just thought they were informational ratings (ala mandated food labels). I guess the gov does require a minimum threshold which has indeed ticked forward over the years. Didn’t know that. Maybe if there is a technological leap it will take a bigger leap the next time the standards change.
