Natural air conditioning???

patarini · #1 01/27/05, 06:22 PM

I saw this site and it makes sense -- but! http://www.i4at.org/surv/aircond.htm
Has anyone out there seen or tried this? I have the room to do it and if it works I am thinking about trying it!

moopups · #2 01/27/05, 06:28 PM

Similiar consept conserning an 'air well', only the condensation is collected as useable water. In the 70's this was also used to creat cooling effects, they are write up in MEN archives about this, they still work today.

halfpint · #3 01/27/05, 06:34 PM

My brother's house has something similar to this. The pipe is connected to his heat pump, so in the summer, the air is cooled so that the heat pump does not have to work as hard to cool, and in the winter the incoming air is usually warmer than the outside air so the heat pump does not have to heat the air as much.
halfpint

Cosmic · #4 01/27/05, 07:36 PM

I got something similar and didn't build nothing.

In the summer, button the house up tight, all storm windows down. Open a large attic window and put a screen it. Open the pathway to attic via a large hatch door and the door to the basement.

Sucks cooler basement air thru the entire house. Rarely need A/C. Makeup air leaks into basement thru normal cracks around the windows, door to outside etc. Regulates itself. On some very hot days I put a fan in the attic to blow out and crack the basement door to the outside under a shaded porch a wee tad.

That idea should also work super with the tunnel if you can just use the attic as the chimney and somehow direct the tunnel air into the basement. I have no way to build a tunnel, no land, two sides paved.

greg273 · #5 01/27/05, 09:30 PM

Check out www.otherpower.com, and look up 'ground temp. cooling'... i asked about this subject and got some good leads. Apparently this is a workable concept, and i hope to install a system soon. There are quite a few variations, all based on the same principle. I'm still wondering how to deal with the condensation issues, besides drilling holes in the bottom of the pipes. Seems to me that mildew would still tend to set up shop in the pipes, and breathing a steady stream of mildewy air doesnt sound too appealing. I'm thinking a heat exchanger setup would work, whereby air from inside the pipes would only TRANSFER its 'coolness' to house air, and not actually BE the house air.
I'm still working out the details...

FolioMark · #6 01/27/05, 10:14 PM

This is actually an ancient concept used by the Romans and still quite common all over the arabic world. Many such system also route the moving air over a pool of water which helps to further cool the air. Thats why the sultan had a pool in the middle of his harem. Nothing new under the sun.

Jenn · #7 01/28/05, 05:02 AM

Or why not just use a geothermal heat pump- price?

Gary in AL · #8 01/28/05, 07:44 AM

There was an old greek revival house up close to where Shrek lives it was built in the fork of a big creek on a little knoll, it was called the Forks of Cypress. They had big opennings in the front of the house facing the creek. Then they had two shafts built going up each side in the back. then each room had a little door that could be opened that came off the shaft. Wah-Lah air conditioning. A bunch of hippies had accidentally burnt the house part down in the 60's. It had once been open for tours. But, back to the plan, the air would come off the creek, up the little knoll. into the basement, up the shafts and into each room. Thought that was pretty smart. Gary