Abstract:
Systems and methods provide a mist cooling system that utilizes rain water as a source of mist, and that relies on a solar-powered or naturally-powered water pump to provide the rainwater to the mist generating device. The rainwater may be stored in a storage facility located on an elevated portion of a structure, such as the roof or other location, and may be provided to the mist generating device via the solar-powered pump. Such mist cooling may reduce energy consumption in applications such as the cooling of data centers, surgery rooms, archives or other temperature sensitive facilities that consume large amounts of energy for cooling.

Description:
[0001]    The current application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 61/638,271, filed on Apr. 25, 2012, and titled “Methods and Systems for Solar-powered Rainwater Mist Cooling,” which his incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems for providing mist cooling of air-conditioning units. More particularly, aspects of the current invention relate to methods and systems for providing mist cooling of air-conditioning units using rainwater and a naturally-powered water pump. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Air conditioners generally include an external condenser unit having a coil, wherein a refrigerant is circulated through the coil for heat exchange purposes. During operation, the coils are cooled by a fan that draws external air over the condenser coil. However, such systems sometimes suffer from airflow blockage and excessive rusting of the condenser coils. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,565 is directed to a fine spray mist formed in the airflow stream about twelve inches upstream or away from the condenser unit so as to cool the air being drawn into the condenser unit. The cooled air allows the fluid in the condensing unit to change state to a vapor state easier and faster. 
         [0006]    Other systems apply a light water mist or spray to an inlet air supply to an air conditioner heat exchanger coil to reduce the energy required to provide cooling. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,162 is directed to providing a water supply controlling mechanism for misting/spraying devices used for water cooling of an air conditioning condenser unit. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0221440 is directed to prolonging the life of an air-conditioning unit by directing water onto the condenser coils of the air condenser. These systems, however, like the one described above with respect to the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,565, are mist cooling systems that generally use tap water, city water, or a high-pressure water source, which over time causes corrosion of the components of the air conditioner. In addition, the above mist cooling systems also use energy typically provided from the grid, which increases overall energy consumption. Accordingly, there is an unmet need in the art for methods and systems that are “green” and use natural and renewable sources of both water and energy, such as, e.g., rainwater and solar energy, without increasing power consumption from the power grid and/or using public water facilities. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In light of the above described problems and unmet needs as well as aspects of the current invention provide systems and methods for providing a mist cooling system that utilizes rain water as a source of mist, and that relies on a solar-powered or naturally-powered water pump to provide the rainwater to the mist generating device. For example, the rainwater may be stored in a storage facility located on an elevated portion of a structure, such as, e.g., the roof or other location, and may be provided to the mist generating device via the solar-powered, wind-powered, water-powered, or other pump. Accordingly, such mist cooling may reduce energy consumption in applications such as the cooling of data centers, surgery rooms, archives or other temperature sensitive facilities that consume large amounts of energy for cooling. 
         [0008]    According to various example aspects of the current invention, solar panels, which may generate, e.g., an average power output of about 110 Watts to 130 Watts and up to 180 Watts, may be used to power one or more batteries that may be connected to a water pump to provide water to a mist generating device. The water may be rainwater and stored, for example, in a rainwater storage cistern or other similar storage system, and may be provided via a pump to a misting device. The rainwater storage cistern may be located, for example, on an elevated part of a dwelling or other structure, such as the roof. According to various aspects, the misting device may include a water line with a plurality of mist nozzles located within an appropriate distance from portions of an air-conditioning unit such as a fan coil unit and/or air conditioning compressor. 
         [0009]    Among many advantages of such example aspects of the current invention, the use of rainwater decreases the danger of corroding or otherwise damaging the various parts of an air-conditioning unit or other device, which is generally observed when tap water, city water, or a pressurized water source is used for mist cooling. Corrosion or other damage to the air conditioning device is reduced because the various parts are generally designed to resist corrosion from rainwater, due to the fact that, e.g., an air-conditioning unit is designed to be exposed to the atmosphere and thus to be resistant to the effects of rainwater, and rainwater does not include many impurities, fluorides, and other corrosive agents, typically present in city water or tap water. In addition, the use of solar power to pump the rainwater to the mist cooling device decreases overall energy consumption and promotes an environmentally friendly mist cooling device. 
         [0010]    Additional advantages and novel features of these aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or upon learning by practice of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Various example aspects of the systems and methods will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a solar-powered mist cooling system, according to various aspects of the current invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a method of mist cooling an air-conditioning unit, according to various aspects of the current invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  presents an example system diagram of various hardware components and other features, for use in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of various example system components, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    These and other features and advantages are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various example aspects. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a solar-powered mist cooling system, according to various example aspects of the current invention. In  FIG. 1 , one or more solar panels  110  may be provided to generate power from the sun by receiving solar energy. According to various aspects, the solar panels  110  may generate, e.g., an average power output of about 110 Watts to 130 Watts and up to 180 Watts. The solar panels  110  may be connected to a voltage regulator  120 , which may regulate the charging of batteries  130 . It should be noted that, although solar panels are discussed above, other devices that may allow the conversion of solar light or other natural energy into usable energy may also be used within the spirit of devices and systems in accordance with aspects of this invention. For example, devices that transform wind or other natural phenomena into energy may also be used. According to various aspects, the batteries  130  may include one or more deep cycle batteries capable of storing the energy received from the voltage regulator  120  as a result of solar light being collected at the solar panels  110 , or as a result of wind energy conversion, for example. According to various example aspects of the current invention, the batteries  130  may be coupled to a water pump  150  under the control of a controller  140 . For example, the water pump  150  may include a 12-Volt (V) pump with up to 200 gallons per hour flow rate and a pressure of up to 60 pounds-per-square-inch (psi). According to various aspects, the water pump  150  may be coupled to a water storage facility  160 , such as a rainwater storage facility located, e.g., on the roof of a structure or dwelling, or in another location. For example, the rainwater storage facility  160  may be a water cistern. In operation, the water pump  150 , activated by energy provided from the batteries  130 , may be used to provide rainwater stored in the rainwater storage facility  160  to the mist generating device  170 . 
         [0018]    According to various aspects, the mist generating device  170  may include a plurality of mist nozzles or other mist-generating devices  175 , and when the rainwater is provided to the mist generating device  170  from the rainwater storage facility  160  via the solar-powered pump  150  at, for example, low pressure, rainwater may be provided to one or more of the nozzles  175 , and mist may be generated as a result. Accordingly, misty rainwater may be projected on portions of the air-conditioning unit  180 . For example, the portions of the air-conditioning unit  180  being cooled by the mist generated by the mist generating device  170  may include the condenser coils of the air-conditioning unit  180 . As a result, the evaporation of the fine mist upon contact with hot portions of the air-conditioning unit  180 , or upon contact with hot portions of the condenser coils of the air-conditioning unit  180 , for example, may generate a cooling effect that results in a decrease in temperature of portions of the air-conditioning unit  180 , sometimes by up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and in lowering the input air on the hot portions of the air-conditioning unit  180 . 
         [0019]    According to various aspects, other parts of the air-conditioning unit  180  may also or alternatively be cooled by the mist generating device  170 . For example, the amount of energy required to power the air-conditioning unit  180  may be reduced by up to 20%. According to various aspects, the mist nozzles  175  may be located at regular or irregular intervals along the length of the mist generating device  170 , and the mist generating device  170  may be located at a constant or a varying distance from the air-conditioning unit  180 . For example, several mist nozzles  175  may be placed at about twelve (12) inch intervals along the length of the mist generating device  170 , and the mist generating device  170  may be located at a distance of about sixteen (16) inches from the air-conditioning unit  180 , although the distance may vary in order to obtain an optimal coverage of, for example, the coils of the air-conditioning unit  180 . In addition, while  FIG. 1  illustrates a mist generating device  170 , which may be arranged in parallel with the air-conditioning unit  180 , the mist generating device  170  may alternatively be inclined at an angle relative to the air-conditioning unit  180 , for example. For example, the mist generating device  170  may be inclined at an angle of 30°, 45°, or 75°, relative to the air-conditioning unit  180 . 
         [0020]    According to various aspects, the mist generating device  170  may include a longitudinally oriented cylindrically-shaped portion on which the mist nozzles  175  are placed. For example, the mist generating device  170  may include a PVC cylinder with a size of about 0.5 inches in diameter. It should be noted that the diameter of the PVC cylinder may be larger or smaller than 0.5 inches, and that the mist nozzles  175  may be located at regular intervals larger or smaller than 12 inches. The mist nozzles  175  may also be located at irregular intervals of varying distances. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a method of mist cooling a device via rainwater provided by natural power, such as solar power, according to various aspects of the current invention. In  FIG. 2 , the method includes storing rainwater at S 110 . According to various aspects, the rainwater may be stored at S 110  in a cistern or other water storage facility located, for example, on the roof of a structure or other location that is suitable to collect rainwater. According to various aspects, one or more solar panels or other devices capable of transforming solar heat and light into energy may be provided at S 120  in order to generate power in the form of, for example, electricity. According to various aspects, the natural energy may also alternatively be provided by wind power turbines capturing wind energy or other mechanism. It should be noted that although steps S 110  and S 120  are described chronologically, the method may include step S 120  taking place contemporaneously with, later than, or earlier than step S 110  while remaining within the spirit hereof. According to various aspects, the power generated via the solar panels of solar energy collection device at S 120  may be used to provide power to a water pump at S 130 . According to various aspects, although the water pump may be powered via energy generated by the solar panels or other solar energy collection device, or via another natural energy collection device, the water pump and the solar panels may or may not be in close proximity with one other. According to various aspects, the water pump and the solar panels may therefore alternatively be at a distance from one other. 
         [0022]    According to various aspects, when the water pump is powered by energy provided by the solar panels at S 130  for example, a mist cooling system may be activated by providing rainwater from the rainwater storage facility to the mist generating device via the water pump at S 140 . As a result, a device such as an air conditioning device or other device having a tendency to heat up, may be mist-cooled by rainwater. According to various aspects, the evaporation of the fine mist at the contact of hot portions of the air-conditioning unit generates a cooling effect that results in a decrease in temperature of the portions of the air-conditioning unit, sometimes by up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, and in lowering the input air on the hot portions. For example, the amount of energy required to power the air-conditioning unit may be reduced by up to 20%. Among many advantages of aspects of the current invention, mist cooling of the device at S 140  may be performed in an environmentally friendly manner, with no additional energy cost to power the water pump, due, for example, to the use of solar energy or other natural energy. Additional advantages of aspects of the current invention include a decrease in the typical corrosive effect on coils and/or other parts of an air-conditioning unit or other device generally observed when tap water, city water, or a high-pressure water source is used for mist cooling. The corrosive effect may be decreased because various parts of the air-conditioning unit are generally designed to resist rainwater exposure because an air-conditioning unit is typically exposed to the atmosphere and thus to be resistant to the effects of rainwater, which does not include many of the impurities, fluorides, and other corrosive agents typically present in city or tap water. 
         [0023]    According to various aspects, the misting operation may be controlled via a timer, for example, to activate the water pump within predefined periods of time in order to maximize efficiency of the power output of the solar panels and to coordinate the misting operation with times of high energy consumption of the air-conditioning unit. For example, the misting operation may be scheduled to operate between 11 am and 3 pm, and these times may vary depending on the season, for example, which may both correspond to a peak of electricity produced by the solar panels and a peak of energy consumption by the air-conditioning unit. 
         [0024]    According to various aspects, the above systems and methods may be operated and controlled via computer hardware as described below. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  presents an example system diagram of various hardware components and other features, for use in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. Aspects of the present invention may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems. In one example variation, aspects of the invention are directed toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. An example of such a computer system  900  is shown in  FIG. 3   
         [0026]    Computer system  900  includes one or more processors, such as processor  904 . The processor  904  is connected to a communication infrastructure  906  (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Various software aspects are described in terms of this example computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement aspects of the invention using other computer systems and/or architectures. 
         [0027]    Computer system  900  may include a display interface  902  that forwards graphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure  906  (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit  930 . Computer system  900  also includes a main memory  908 , preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory  910 . The secondary memory  910  may include, for example, a hard disk drive  912  and/or a removable storage drive  914 , representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive  914  reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit  918  in a well-known manner. Removable storage unit  918 , represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to removable storage drive  914 . As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit  918  includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data. 
         [0028]    In alternative aspects, secondary memory  910  may include other similar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system  900 . Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage unit  922  and an interface  920 . Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storage units  922  and interfaces  920 , which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit  922  to computer system  900 . 
         [0029]    Computer system  900  may also include a communications interface  924 . Communications interface  924  allows software and data to be transferred between computer system  900  and external devices. Examples of communications interface  924  may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via communications interface  924  are in the form of signals  928 , which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface  924 . These signals  928  are provided to communications interface  924  via a communications path (e.g., channel)  926 . This path  926  carries signals  928  and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refer generally to media such as a removable storage drive  980 , a hard disk installed in hard disk drive  970 , and signals  928 . These computer program products provide software to the computer system  900 . Aspects of the invention are directed to such computer program products. 
         [0030]    Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) are stored in main memory  908  and/or secondary memory  910 . Computer programs may also be received via communications interface  924 . Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system  900  to perform various features in accordance with aspects of the present invention, as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor  910  to perform such features. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system  900 . 
         [0031]    In variations where aspects of the invention are implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system  900  using removable storage drive  914 , hard drive  912 , or communications interface  920 . The control logic (software), when executed by the processor  904 , causes the processor  904  to perform the functions in accordance with aspects of the invention as described herein. In another variation, aspects are implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s). 
         [0032]    In yet another example variation, aspects of the invention are implemented using a combination of both hardware and software. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of various example system components, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.  FIG. 4  shows a communication system  1000  usable in accordance with the present invention. The communication system  1000  includes one or more accessors  1060 ,  1062  (also referred to interchangeably herein as one or more “users”) and one or more terminals  1042 ,  1066 . In one aspect, data (e.g., instructions relating to operation of an air conditioning system and/or misting component of such system) for use in accordance with aspects of the present invention is, for example, input and/or accessed by accessors  1060 ,  1062  via terminals  1042 ,  1066 , such as personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers, microcomputers, telephonic devices, or wireless devices, such as personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) or a hand-held wireless devices coupled to a server  1043 , such as a PC, minicomputer, mainframe computer, microcomputer, or other device having a processor and a repository for data and/or connection to a repository for data, via, for example, a network  1044 , such as the Internet or an intranet, and couplings  1045 ,  1046 ,  1064 . The couplings  1045 ,  1046 ,  1064  include, for example, wired, wireless, or fiberoptic links. In another example variation, the method and system in accordance with aspects of the present invention operate in a stand-alone environment, such as on a single terminal. 
         [0034]    While aspects of this invention have been described in conjunction with the example features outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or that are or may be presently unforeseen, may become apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the example aspects of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and thereof. Therefore, aspects of the invention are intended to embrace all known or later-developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents.