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A while back there was an article about R&D on a chemical absorption chiller AC for cars. They acknowledge that the downside is it takes a while to start working since it requires heat from the engine/exhaust to work. What do you people think of this idea I have? Forget using such a device for cars. I think big rig makers should look into this. Keep the traditional AC compressor along with the chemical absorption chiller. Use the AC compressor until the chemical absorption chiller gets up and running then the compressor cuts out. The rest of the highway miles AC is from the chemical absorption chiller instead of the AC compressor. This could result in a fuel savings. I believe some drivers sleep in their cab as the engine idles for AC. If this is true, then the chemical absorption chiller would still be operating.
Problem with these systems is that they have a very low cooling efficiency per unit of energy consumed as compared to conventional compressor driven systems. However, since absorption refrigeration uses energy directly (HEAT), if you could devise a reliable and SAFE method to utilize exhaust gases then you would have a product.
Not to discourage you but these types of ideas are easy to jot down on paper but you would need a fairly strong background or experience in thermodynamics, materials science and mechanical engineering to really get something built on your own. If you cant build it yourself, you could (should) consult a patent agency/attorney to protect the idea and find someone or a firm to design/build it for you. Still, you would need substantial technical background to draft a patent of this sort.
Heat byproduct from engines is a horrendous waste of energy... its amazing there aren't more ideas on the market to utilize this waste. Look how long it took for companies to take advantage of harnessing the energy from inertia during braking! More is at play here that stymies such ideas... Big Oil.
lux hauler is right overall. a lot of what we have today has been tough to properly develop, and we needed a reason to develop these things, as well as having a breakthrough to make them work well.
Yes, there is an efficiency savings from using the waste heat, either from the engine, or exhaust, but at a pretty steep cost. And the current systems are pretty efficient for their size, cost and weight.
There is also potential safety issues. A mobile unit would be more at risk of having the refrigerant leak, and the fixed absorb units use ammonia, (quite toxic). The mobile unit would have to be rugged enough to not leak onto the driver after a big wreck.
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