Solar Cooling

Solar Cooling provided by Mercury Solar

Renewable Energy Now is the time

Approximately half of the energy used in most buildings in Honolulu and throughout Oahu is consumed in cooling systems.

How Solar Cooling Works

1We are surrounded by heat; humans generate heat through engines, air conditioners, and other modern conveniences. This heat can be beneficial as wherever there is waste heat, it can be used to heat water or accomplish solar cooling.

2Free heat from the sun or via waste heat can accomplish cooling more economically than using other fuels. Solar cooling, which is a very old technology, is actually how ice was manufactured in the late 18th century, prior to the modern day refrigeration process.

3Solar cooling or "absorption" cooling is accomplished by using two chemicals with a high affinity for each other. Heat is used to "distill-out" or break apart this bond; once the bond is broken, the heat is removed so they can re-join. When the high affinity chemicals recombine, pressure drops-as does the temperature.

4Solar cooling is, in many ways, an ideal solution for alternative energy, based on the fact that the power needed for supplying commercial air conditioning is most greatly in demand during those times when energy from the sun is most abundantly available.

5Solar cooling is currently the focus of intensive research and development worldwide, as governments and private industry recognize the potential that this technology has for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering the demand for petroleum, and saving money.

6Given that electricity prices in Hawaii are nearly more than three times higher per kilowatt hour than on the mainland, it is clear your business stands to gain greatly from doing anything possible to reduce the amount of money that you have to spend every month on cooling.