When I think of solar energy, I think of solar cells, solar water heaters, solar lights you put up in your front yard, but I do not think of solar air-conditioning. Not until last week when the East Valley Tribune paper had an article about solar air-conditioning. The system sounds pretty cool, though it is a pretty big set up. In Arizona, it is your air-conditioner that is the biggest draw on power during the summer (mine adds around $200 per month for four to five months). A solar power air-conditioner only makes sense.

From the article, here is how a solar power air-conditioner works:

Solar panels provide a source of heat to drive the cooling process. Hot water is utilized by an absorption chiller to evaporate processed water under a vacuum to produce cold water. The chilled water is piped to an air handler, and cool air is blown into the building.

After reading the article, I wonder, how many other items can we attach solar cells to? We already have solar cars, lights, water heater, cell phone chargers, fans. My first thought was my lawn mower. Put a solar cell on the engine. It can sit out in the sun charging the battery for a week or two before I need to use it. Maybe a solar power grill (I’m not sure how that would work – store energy in batteries (?)) I am sure with a little more imagination, people can figure out more solar power products. Do you have any ideas or know of any cool solar power products?

Mark Viquesney