$8m funding for green cooling technologies
Research and development of next generation air conditioning technology is to receive nearly $8m in funding from the US Department of Energy.
United Technologies, Carrier Air Conditioning’s parent company, will receive $975,000 for work being carried out to develop a high efficiency centrifugal compressor design for small commercial rooftop systems in the 1.5-10ton range. According to UTC, these systems could provide 30% annual energy savings with less than two years payback by 2020 and, if fully commercialized, could save 2.5 quads of energy by 2030.
The United Technologies Research Centre will receive a further $1m to demonstrate an electrocaloric heat pump that, it is said, will be 50% smaller than current models, run more quietly and likely cost less to maintain because of its simple mechanical design…