AMAZING IDEA FOR ENERGY SAVING
Air-conditioner and heater are the two household applications that consume the most electricity. Knowing that the current energy source can no longer meet the demand of the increasing population, Le Hong Phuc – a senior of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, HCMC University of Technology – has invented a novel system which enables the two applications to lessen the total amount of required energy.
According to Phuc, the need of air conditioner and heater for personal hygiene and daily activities of Vietnamese is increasing greatly in the recent years.
This innovative hybrid system reduces the consumed electricity by 40-50% compared to the total amount of electricity consumed by two separate devices. As a result, the pressure of electricity shortage put on the government in dry seasons will also be lessened.
Along with the increased productivity of air conditioners, consumers are profitted with a source of warm water for daily use (It will reduce the required energy in order to circulate between the resevoir and the outside source). The environment is not affected and no annoying noise is produced.
Illustration of the hybrid model invented by Le Hong Phuc
| Old system | New hybrid system |
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– Required large amount of electricity in order for the heater and air conditioner to function separately – Lower productivity of the air conditioner – Surrounding environment is affected by warm air from the condenser – Large noise produced |
– Electricity saving – Higher productivitiy of the air conditioner – The environment is less affected – No noise produced |
As water has high heat transfer coefficient and specific heat of 4 times (4,2 kJ/kg.K) and specific weight of 700-800 times more than that of air, therefore by using water as a coolant for air conditioner, the productivity is much higher for the same area of condenser while lifespan of the air conditioner is improved.
Experimental result of this solution shows that starting from 25oC, after serving as a coolant for the air conditioner (working 24/24), water has reached 50oC. Moreover, only 0.62 m3 of water from the family reservoir is sufficient for this hybrid system.
According to Phuc, this idea has already developed and applied to industrial zones by severals corporations. However, Phuc’s project is more feasible for households hence it can be applied more widely for daily use.
This simple yet effective solution earns the talented inventor Third Prize in the Green Energy for Life 2013 contest held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
46,5% of the population is highly interested in energy saving
According to a recent survey of ECC HCMC, 46,5% of the participants is very interested in energy saving, 40% is interested; 3,3% is not interested at all while most of the participants who are highly interested in energy saving are high school and university/college students.
