PolyU’s Department of Electrical Engineering in collaboration with Green Power Industrial Ltd have developed a solar-powered air-conditioning system for vehicles that allows drivers to turn it on without consuming any drop of gasoline.
“Drivers of minibuses or taxis can now switch off the engine but continue to stay cool while waiting for passengers at the station. In fact, our system helps extend the operation of air-conditioner for two more hours,” said Prof Eric Cheng, principal investigator on this project.
He also claims that this device is able to provide good power output even during rainy or cloudy days (although I guess you won’t need much air conditioning during those times).
The new solar-powered air-conditioning system for vehicles (SAV) features solar photovoltaic panels on the vehicle’s rooftop in order to store the juice in a battery that provides energy for the air-conditioning unit when the car engine is not running.
According to some statistics, leaving a car on idle for just 10 minutes a day, will consume around 100 liters of gasoline in a year. Let’s not mention that idling is bad for the engine (accelerates the deterioration of engine components) but also pollutes the air.
[via Researchsea]
