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Author Topic: Solar Powered fridge  (Read 411 times)

The Future

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Solar Powered fridge
« on: January 30, 2010, 11:01:53 AM »
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1108343/Amazing-solar-powered-fridge-invented-British-student-potting-shed-helps-poverty-stricken-Africans.html

6 degrees C maintained for several days inside a simple container within a container using evaporative cooling.
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Mike

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2010, 12:41:23 AM »
It is not a solar powered cooler but an evaporative cooler that is powered by evaporation.  The humidity is what determines its cooling ability, not the sun.  It would be neat to see charts describing the internal temperature under varying humidities.

Also, engineering school could do more damage than good for this girl.  She should probably just hang out with gramps.
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offdalip

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2010, 03:25:11 PM »
won't work in Bermuda, won't work in Florida, will probably work in the Saharan Desert tho'..... as long as you can find water......
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The Future

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2010, 05:44:57 AM »
oh.  so you mean LOW humidity is required for it to work.  If so, that makes sense.
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opsec

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2010, 11:37:16 AM »
I don't think this woman accomplished much at all. This is a blatant redesign of the "pot-in-pot" that was invented by some guy in Africa. All she has done is remake the same basic mechanism, only it's now constructed with materials that are out of reach to most of the people who would need to use this technology in the first place. The African version has two ceramic pots nested inside each other separated by a layer of wet sand. I remember reading about it a year ago or more.
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silverseeds

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2010, 12:47:28 PM »
It is rather arid here. I might try this sometime.....
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The Future

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2010, 06:21:55 AM »
opsec is right...i have heard of that...on this forum i think.... :confused002:
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Ryder

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #7 on: February 02, 2010, 01:01:32 PM »
I have bag of ice that is in my "no power" freezer. I put it on the back porch out of the sunlight in december and it is still frozen. Got to love montana in the winter.
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The Future

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2010, 07:24:19 AM »
no competition for space there from me.
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oscar615

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2010, 12:14:18 PM »
Well I will read the article, but, if it is an evaporative cooler it will not work in high humidity areas. It cools by adding hunidity to the air.  In CO we have what is called a swamp cooler.  An evaporative cooler for your house.  I had one in my last house and it worked OK.  NOT AC but better than nothing.  Trouble is that once the humidity inside the house gets high it gets muggy and stops cooling as well. 

I had never heard of them at all before I moved here from Louisiana.  Reason?  They don't even sell them there because they don't work in high humidity areas..

However I have been wanting a solar fridge.  So I will read and see if it is one step closer to reality.  Thanks for the post.
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The Future

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2010, 05:45:12 AM »
cool.  it is a relatively short article.
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opsec

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2010, 01:32:12 AM »
What would make one of these things work in a high humidity environment would be to use a more volitile evaporant. 99% pure rubbing alcohol used in place of water should work, but then you have the problems of procuring and storing enough alcohol, not to mention the fumes are extremely flammable.
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offdalip

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Re: Solar Powered fridge
« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2010, 06:00:24 AM »
Sure, you could also use ammonia or sulfur dioxide like they did in the old days..... or freon

pf course these are all more expensive than water.....
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