Air conditioner operation has become essential to maintain health as well as coolness. However, if you keep running the air conditioner, your electricity bill will increase, your body becomes too cold, or you may be worried about the environmental impact. So scientists have developed a new cooling system called Cold Tubes that works by absorbing human radiant heat rather than cooling the air that touches the skin.
The cold tube maintains coolness by circulating water through the panel system and panels installed on the wall or ceiling. Because it has the property of moving from a hot surface to a cold surface by heat dissipation, when a human is under the panel, the skin heat moves to the panel. This way, you can get the feeling that cold air is around your body without using a cold tube air conditioner.
These systems have been used in industry for decades, but the point is that cold tubes do not require dehumidification systems. Just as water drops adhere to the glass surface when a cup of iced cold coffee is placed in a hot place, air cooling systems such as cold tubes until now require a dehumidification system to remove the generated water. However, the newly developed cold tube solves the dehumidification system problem by a sealable moisture-proof membrane surrounding the cooling panel that transmits heat radiation and prevents condensation from occurring.
The project included the University of British Columbia, Princeton University, UC Berkeley and the Singapore ETH Center. The research team received feedback from 55 residents after actually building a house using cold tubes in Singapore in 2019. When the cold tube was turned on, most residents reported that it was comfortable and cold even on an average temperature of 30 degrees.
If you look at a building that uses a cold tube, there is a blue cold tube attached to the interior wall or ceiling. Cold tubes, which do not require a dehumidification system, have been shown to reduce typical air conditioner energy consumption by 50%. An official from ALI Research, who conducted the project inspection, said that many cold tubes such as summer event venues, performance halls, bus stops, and public facilities will be available. Usually, in such a facility, not only the cold tube is used, but also the use of the air conditioner to suppress energy consumption is assumed.
On the other hand, since the cold tube works regardless of the indoor temperature and humidity, it can be sent by simply opening the window without using the air conditioner even in summer. In particular, it is expected to be used in developing countries as it faces the need for a cooling system in the future as the temperature rises. In addition, as the COVID-19 epidemic requires maintaining indoor air and good ventilation, it can be seen that the demand for systems such as cold tubes will increase further. Related information can be found here .
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