Finnish company can cool your home with heat

Acvio, a company out of Finland showcasing its technology at the Nordic Green cleantech conference this week in California, says it has come up with an air conditioning system that consumes 60 per cent to 70 per cent less power than conventional systems.

The energy savings come because Acvio's system doesn't require an air compressor, the traditional engine inside air conditioners, to make cool air. Instead, the system relies on the energy released when a solid becomes a liquid.

It works like this: warm air from the outside is collected and funnelled towards a solid. The heat melts the solid and the melting process takes heat out of the air. That cooler air is then cycled inside to cool down the inside of a home or office. You can also use it in server rooms, which consume a lot of energy. Half the electricity in today's data centres is used to power the air conditioners.

"Instead of a compressor, we use hot and humid air," said CEO Kari Moilala, during a meeting at the conference. "The energy is taken out of hot air." Acvio's system does require fans, but these can be run by solar panels, Moilala says. The system can also be used to heat a building by running the process in reverse, but it works better as an air conditioner.

Moilala wouldn't say what the material is that goes from solid to liquid, but it isn't water. A few US companies like Ice Energy are cooling buildings by converting ice to water.

Heat exchange systems -- those that shuttle heat and cold back and forth like this -- have been around for a while, but are improving in the face of increasing electricity prices. Another one to check out is Hallowell International, which has an air conditioner that also works as a heater in cooler climates.

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