Solar system without cooling

Can a solar system cool things down without power?

Imagine a device that can sit outside under blazing sunlight on a clear day, and without using any power cool things down by more than 23 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). It almost sounds like magic, but a new system designed by researchers at MIT and in Chile can do exactly that.

How cool can a solar device cool a plant?

The device achieved a cooling of 13 degrees Celsius under full sunlight at solar noon. Similar tests on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, achieved just under 10 degrees cooling. That’s enough cooling to make a significant difference in preserving produce in remote locations, the researchers say.

Do cooling systems need electricity?

Cooling systems are therefore necessary, but many depend on electricity. An international research team led by KAUST Professor Qiaoqiang Gan Gan has designed a potential solution. Their device needs no electricity, as it extracts water from the air using nothing more than gravity and relies on cheap, readily available materials.

Can solar cells keep water cool?

Along with keeping the solar cells and other semiconductor technologies cool, the water can be repurposed for irrigation, washing, cooling buildings on which the solar cells are placed, and other applications. Scientists estimate that the atmosphere contains six times more water than all the fresh water in the rivers combined.