Wood Boiler Produces Air Conditioning???

[Bart May]

Two years ago I bought a Central Boiler cl6048 wood furance.
Ive been very pleased with its results.
I go thru allot of Wood, from 10-12 cords per winter, but for the most part Ive already broke even on my $10K investment in just 2years.
I live in Virginia in a large old uninsulated house with many single pane windows.
It's a all masony construction and can be bone chilling cold come winter.
Before everybody jumps in let me say it's not a house than can be easly insulated.
My wood is paid for with sweat equity. ;>)).

I have Business Associate who saw smoke from my stove this past July, and he ask if I was heating my bath water too?
I replayed yes and now if I could just find a way to cut my air condioning bill as well it would even more happy with my investment.           
He responded, "that's simple You just need a Lithium Bromide Absorption Chiller".
Dennis has been a Maintence Egineer for the local Hospital for the past 30 years, and I take for granite he knows what he talking about when it comes to HVAC.

Now before I bough My Wood Furnace I researched down draft gasification and Hydrogen production, running internal combustion engines to Produce Electricity, getting off the Power Grid
and all that is very interesting, but goal is to get my utility bill down to next to nothing.

The link below is a 5ton Chiller unit made by a Japanese company call Yazaki.

http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/solar-air-conditioning/yazaki-solar-data.html

It weighs a about 900lbs is about 5ft x2ft x 2ft.
Takes hot water in as low as 154 degrees and output cold water at around 45 degrees.
I'm currently investigating the price, but these units are uncommon here in the States.

I'm sure the ROI won't be a 24mo payback but it's a COOL idea.

I'm interested in hearing comments from members of this site. 

[trapper]

I saw a unit described that uses amonia to convert heat to cold.  what is the principle used in propane refrigators? They have been used for  years.

[Brucer]

I saw a unit described that uses amonia to convert heat to cold.  what is the principle used in propane refrigators? They have been used for  years.

Units that are powered by heat in order to chill something (like a fridge or air conditioner) are called absorption refrigeration units. It doesn't mater what the heat source is -- a propane flame, hot water from a boiler, a wood fire, even an electric element.

Industrial units use ammonia and water. Small units like the ones in camper vans use ammonia, hydrogen, and water. Other types use salts like lithium bromide combined with water.

They generally involve a cooling stage where two components are combined to produce a lower temperature, and a separation stage where heat is used to separate the components.

Absorption refrigeration is less efficient than compression refrigeration (i.e., the conventional refrigerator), but if you've got surplus or waste heat anyway you may as well use it.

[Al_Smith]

We had absorption chillers on the U-boats but we also had a nuclier reactor producing the heat .

Absorption units have been around in one form or another since old Shep was a puppy,long time . Gas refridgeraters for example .In more moden times those little chillers you plug into the lighter of your auto to keep your pop cold are absorption units . They work just fine for beer too . 8)

[Hilltop366]

I got a question.
Could you increase your heating efficiency by using this as a heat source as well? Would the heat be more more efficient than heat from the wood alone?
The reason I was thinking this was I was told that a electric heat pump will get 200% efficiency or more compared to resistance heating,
also when heating you could also use the waste cold for refrigeration.
Does this make any sense?
Well I guess that is 3 questions.

[Al_Smith]

All refridgeration works on the latent heat of vaporization regardless if they are absorption types or conventional compressers units .

That being said there would indeed be some heat that could be recaptured  but it would not equal the heat from just turning water into steam that the boiler does to begin with .

Any time you change from one form of thermal energy to another you loose efficiency .Say from heat to steam,steam  to mechanical via a turbine , turbine to electrical generation . Then on the end electrical to  heat which is what it started out to begin with . About like going to Miami to get to Detroit  from Chicago . :D

[Hilltop366]

All refridgeration works on the latent heat of vaporization regardless if they are absorption types or conventional compressers units .

That being said there would indeed be some heat that could be recaptured  but it would not equal the heat from just turning water into steam that the boiler does to begin with .

Any time you change from one form of thermal energy to another you loose efficiency .Say from heat to steam,steam  to mechanical via a turbine , turbine to electrical generation . Then on the end electrical to  heat which is what it started out to begin with

OK  that makes sense

bout like going to Miami to get to Detroit  from Chicago . :D

I think I flew on that airline once!

[maple flats]

15 yrs ago I was a dealer for Taylor outside boilers. At their factory in Elizabethtown, NC they had an air conditionar that ran by the energy in the taylor hot water. They had to run it at about 205-210 to get it to work and it cooled rather well. The problem they could not solve as last i heard was icing up on humid days. I have not been in touch with them to find out if this problem was ever solved, but I doubt it or you would see adds all over the place to sell them.