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21 comments on The Bullroarer - Tuesday 18 March 2008
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Sp, you are right and I was being a bit cheeky. Swampys work well in the interior when humidity is relatively low. Even when we have humid days here the fan function alone at least circulates the air which helps.
Air conditioning function is actually a combination of both temperature and humidity and it is possible for air to be too dry or wet and in either case be uncomfortable. The same goes for heating a building. If the air is too dry it will need to be at a much higher temperature to feel comfortable than if the humidty can also be adjusted.
Refrigerated A/Cs pack a double punch by reducing humidity and temperature which should increase their efficiency. Many big commercail A/C systems now employ a pre cooling evaporative stage which increase efficiency even further.
I think Kiashu is basiclly right though. We will ahve to get used to less air conditioned comfort and just find a shady place when it gets too hot to move.
The profligate use of air con will have to cease...
I don't have shares in an adsorption cycle manufacturer, but it strikes me as an interesting and potentially robust technology that could find a useful niche... before we succumb to the logic of "there are no alternatives" and stump up the public funds for nukes.
If we don't try to adapt and moderate our behaviours and associated adopted technologies then there will be no alternative but nuclear... and after that then what?
I could be convinced of a nuclear build... but only if it retired existing coal (and reserving my right for more provisos ;-) )
Another interesting technology is Thermoacoustic Stirling 1 and 2 which can also be used for some serious cooling.
But generally I don't think we can just tech our way out of our problems...
Cheers.
I agree that we can't tech our way inot an expanded future but I think we can adpat the acquired knowledge from the oil age to make whatever comes next a more comfortable existence than some of the periods of the past. By comfortable, I don't just mean the physical(which could be harder) but social, spiritual and mental health may improve becasue of the adversity we will all have to face.
Big Gav has done an excellent post today on Bio-gas which I think could be a useful technology to sustain some of the essentials of civilazation while we transition to a lower population over the next couple of hundred years. Bio-gas is a a relatively low tech way to produce a sustainable supply of hydrocarbon fuel for the essentials of life but I doubt it will ever end up powering air conditioners.