Michigan State University (MSU) Assistant Professor Norbert Muller has developed a low-cost, energy efficient air conditioner for residential and small commercial spaces.
The air conditioner uses water vapor (R-718) as the refrigerant. Water vapor can be more efficient than traditional refrigerants, but engineering the compressor is difficult and expensive.
“In Europe where there are high energy costs, water vapor is used as a refrigerant in large projects,” Muller says. “The economics of making a smaller scale R-718 compressor have, in the past, proven to be prohibitive.”
Muller invented a way to make an economical compressor that is small and lightweight by designing a novel turbo compressor woven out of high-strength fibers with an integrated motor.
“It gives wonderful control. It’s efficient and compact,” he says. “Another plus for the new R-718 technology is that by experience it is surprisingly quiet.”
Muller and his Ann Arbor colleague John Barrie, who is with the Appropriate Technology Collaborative in Ann Arbor, won the Boston Innovation Prize and $30,000 for their design.
Source: MSU
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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