How can we make air conditioners 33% more efficient? Here's a revolutionary solution.

Energy consumption for heating and cooling is expected to triple in the next thirty years, as populations grow, and more people move into cities. A lot of that energy demand is used in compressing and pumping fluids. Now a market disrupting technology has been launched that increases compression speed by 38% while using 33% less electricity. Multiply that by billions of units and you get a pretty helpful contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions!

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[JustHaveaThink]

SCROLL COMPRESSORS AND EFFICIENCIES

Hi folks,


In light of the various questions about efficiencies and alternative technologies like scroll compressors, here’s some additional commentary from the Chief Technical Officer at Magtor.


"Reciprocating compressors can claim to be about 90% efficient. But there is a trick. This is the efficiency of the compression chamber/piston/valves system, or the “application side”, not the “full” compressor system. In other words that’s the efficiency of the compressor without the motor.

Though misleading, this makes sense as it is the efficiency of the thermodynamics of compression. By compressing a gas you change its enthalpy (a mix of internal energy and pressure x volume characteristics). Then the “efficiency” generally links the varying gas enthalpies between suction and discharge conditions to the ideal, theoretical enthalpy variation occurring during an isentropic (adiabatic) process (times mass flow to work with powers). The differences being due to friction and the power that is lost for opening and closing the valves.
Furthermore, the efficiency varies with the type of medium that is compressed, the compression ratio (max/min absolute pressure) or the intake temperatures.

So, it is at best the efficiency from linear mechanical power to compressed medium, not the efficiency from the electrical power fed to the rotary motor (before the crankshaft).

One can refer to following links on the Internet:

- Basic thermodynamics of reciprocating compression / 45th Turbomachinery & 32nd Pump symposia / Houston, Texas – 2016:




- How to estimate compressor efficiency?




SCROLL COMPRESSORS:



There are many types of compressors in use, and the industry somewhat specialises within particular technologies based on the power requirements, type of applications, manufacturing costs, end product costs, etc.

Regarding efficiency of scroll vs reciprocating compressors, not all sources agree but the trend is that scroll compressors are at least slightly more efficient, based on operating conditions.


There is an interesting white paper from Schneider Electric, “The different types of cooling compressors” that you can read here





And a second research paper called “Comparison of hermetic scroll and reciprocating compressors operating under varying refrigerant charge and load” that you can read here




Here again, the efficiency that is being referred to is the thermodynamic efficiency as mentioned in the previous point.

[jeffjohnson]

Built a working model of this over 10 yrs ago in a workshop in Florida. Still have it in a box somewhere. Very cool to see this come forward. Very clever how they used the sine wave of AC current to generate the pump.

[bjlpfro]

I think most residential compressors in the US, use a Scroll Compressor instead of a piston compressor. Scroll compressors are a lot more efficient than piston compressors. So the savings from this new technology would be less.

[kevinmills]

That compressor looks like a vibration machine to me. Modern ASHP’s use scroll compressors with soft start and are more efficient.

[SaiaArt]

The best way to solve the problem is reducing the work load. Check for & seal air leaks in the building. On exceptionally hot days, keep windows & shades/blinds closed. Keep hot air, & direct sunlight out. If you have a basement, keep the door open allowing the cooler air below to act as a heat sink to the warmer are above. Keep bathroom doors closed as the exhaust vents allow warm air from outside to enter a building. These steps also reduce humidity inside buildings. All that equates to air conditioners operating fewer hours.

[EProject]

As an appliance repairman I cant wait to see how loud these can get.

[X-boomer]

Definitely one of the most professional sounding presenters on YouTube. Old-school BBC quality.

[jrb_sland]

High inrush current was once a big nuisance, but most modern compressors have more modest inrush conditions at startup. Many HVAC systems run continuously, although at variable speeds, so again the inrush issue is a non-event.

[lpi]

I run R 22 4 ton geothermal closed loop system. Found it to be a very efficient except power consumption. Installing a soft starter from ICM it reduced my power by up to 50% the best thing is you do not hear it turn on. Very impressed by a small investment. Plus using an older waterfurnace sys. It much more reliable than todays disposable junk.

[dpt]

Seems to be a promo to find naïve investors
In 1748 while in Glasgow, William Cullen invented the basis for modern refrigeration.
Scroll and rotary compressor have replaced reciprocating decades ago as the dominant design in the market. These designs are direct drive.
In a reciprocation cycle with one cylinder it is true the 180 degrees is the compression cycle the other 180 degrees is not wasted but pulling in the vapor. Very common to have more than one cylinder taking advantage of the rotation.
As with all these designs they are positive displacement vapor pumps, scroll compressor designs have proven themselves to have few moving parts, excellent seal design between low and high pressure vapor areas along with high efficient motors.
The Achilles heel of reciprocating is more so with valve sealing than the weighted crank that carries inertia

[silvergreylion]

The temperature 2 meters below ground is always at roughly 5 Celsius, so you could just have 60+ meters of garden hose buried as a heat exchanger, but I rarely see this used in heat pump / AC systems, even though it would increase efficiency greatly.

[EdWilliamsPDX]

Most residential (and many commercial) AC units, refrigerators, heat pump and such use scroll compressors. Yes, they have a startup in rush, but I'd be interested in seeing efficiency of this tech versus current scroll compressors.

[wirelesmike]

Reduced friction means they can operate more safely for longer periods without the risk of overheating or fire. Amazing design. It's a shame they won't be selling the pump on the consumer market. There are lots of areas where such a pump would make things better across the board and I would love to see what DIY engeneeres and makers around the world would be able to come up with if they had access to such a game-changing piece of equipment.

[kantanlabs]

The efficiency of cooling systems or heat pumps are mainly dependent on the temperature difference between heat source and heat sink. The compressor only accounts for a fraction of the COP (Coefficient of Performance) of a given system. Many common compressors have efficiencies well above 85%. Many systems are quite close to the maximum thermodynamic limit. Only small high-cost improvements are only possible. Besides, in a century old world-wide developed field, when someone claims for a huge improvement it is usually a hoax or an unverified commercial figure.

[questioneverything]

This is amazing. Now we need to get them to the public at fair prices. Or at least some open-source blueprints.

[andylane]

Sounds like a very powerful speaker to me. As soon as you started describing it it made so much sense and I couldn’t help thinking I can’t believe its taken 100 years to realise a speaker would make a good compressor.

[tedbischak]

This is a huge leap forward for the commercial refrigeration industry, thanks for the introduction!

[LordDecapo]

One thing that confused me... is most AC systems I have done work on, are Scroll compressors... not piston based. Scroll compressors have a near 100% duty cycle as well, just like this solenoid solution.
I may very well be wrong, but I'm not sure how this could THAT much more efficient than a Scroll compressor... sounds like marketing magic to me.

[jonathanedelson]

Just to clarify, what comes out of the expansion valve should be mostly _liquid_. There may be some gas because the warm liquid refrigerant needs to be cooled down to the low pressure boiling point of the refrigerant in the evaporator coil, but what enters the coil is mostly liquid which then gets evaporated by the heat absorbed by the coil.

Jon

[neilchristensen]

HVAC systems don't get enough attention when it comes to conversations about energy and climate in general. With heat pumps becoming the go to alternative to gas furnaces these days, we need to ensure that our appliances that use the refrigeration have optimal efficiency to get the best bang climate wise.

And in cold climates like mine, you will need all the efficiency you can get.