Innovations to Reduce Air-Conditioning Energy Consumption

Home air-conditioning for space cooling has become a necessity in today’s world due to its affordability and the need for comfort, especially in tropical countries. The hot and humid climate makes it difficult for many people to concentrate with their indoor activities. Nevertheless, the air-conditioners consume large amount of energy. As a result, home owners who operate air-conditioners will usually receive high electricity bills. From the society’s point of view, the high energy consumed for the air-conditioners would result in high amount of emission by the electric power plants. Furthermore, although generally affordable to many people, certain group of people can afford to own and operate air-conditioners due to their low income level, which deters them from buying and maintaining the operation of air-conditioners. Most home air-conditioners are the split unit type. An issue with these conventional air-conditioners is that they cool large rooms, which is occupied by one or two persons, even when the occupants are just sleeping or sitting down for a long period of time. In actual fact, only a very small space, surrounding the occupants would need to be air-conditioned. Thus, the energy consumed for home air-conditioning can be reduced significantly if there is a personalized air-conditioners that cool air within a small volume of space which surrounds the individuals especially when they are idling due to sleeping or watching television. This chapter delves into the idea of personalized air-conditioners, including their potentials and challenges