(The Center Square) – Amid tens of thousands of acres on fire in the eastern portion of Washington state and the state Department of Ecology declaring near record-breaking drought conditions, researches at Washington State University have built a test facility to look for carbon-free ways to dial down temperatures.
University researchers hope such cooling methods will allow for improved living conditions without contributing to climate change.
“Finding cooling methods that don’t require putting more greenhouse gases into the air is crucial to helping a growing population adapt to climate change,” Omar Al-Hassawi, lead author a study on passive cooling systems that appeared in the journal Energies, told WSU Insider.
A passive cooling system uses free, renewable sources of energy such as the sun and wind to provide cooling, ventilation and lighting needs for a structure. This removes the need to use mechanical cooling.
“Cooling is increasingly in demand in buildings, especially as the climate gets hotter,” said Al-Hassawi, an assistant professor at WSU’s School of Design and Construction. “There might be inclusion of mechanical systems, but how can we cool buildings to begin with — before relying on the mechanical systems?”
Those mechanical systems are more traditional Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, or HVAC, systems which can be significantly energy intensive.
“Meeting space cooling loads with passive systems rather than active mechanical air conditioning systems can play two important roles. The first is reducing burdens on electrical grids, and the second is reducing or eliminating carbon emissions associated with energy generation due to the increased use of active mechanical cooling,” the introduction to Al-Hassawi’s paper reads.
WSU’s test facility is completely independent of the power grid. It consists of shipping containers with solar powered batteries that can heat the chamber to a temperature of 125 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit year-round to test various passive cooling methods.
Researchers calibrated the chamber based on the results of a full-scale experiment conducted on a passive, downdraft cooling system tested under the hot and dry conditions of Phoenix, Arizona.
Buildings worldwide use nearly 12% of global electricity supply to keep them cool, according to researchers, with almost 90% of residential homes and apartments using traditional mechanical HVAC systems. That translates into large potential energy savings via carbon-free cooling technology.
A recent study on the Washington State Energy Code found the Evergreen State’s baseline energy consumption for cooling is significantly lower than 12% because air conditioning, particularly in the western part of the state, is not in widespread use.
Traditional HVAC cooling systems accounted for 2% to 4% of energy usage in Washington, according to the study. Even adding fans to the equation only brings the number up to the 6% to 7% range on the high end, with average being about 5%.
In other words, Washington’s climate is not ideal for testing carbon-free cooling methods.
Nevertheless, Al-Hassawi plans to have students testing prototypes of their own designs this fall and hopes to find industry partners to test new innovations in passive cooling systems in the coming year.
Funding for the research came, in part, from the WSU School of Design and Construction Faculty Internal Seed Grant program.
