this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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Ancient Iran had swamp coolers* to be more accurate here.
This works in the desert, but you can't replicate it in a humid climate like you can with AC.
I came across this exact thing when researching air conditioning. And since I was interested in a good soltution for the tropics these Yak'chals as they're called are basically useless. The tropics regularly have dew points of 26°C and above.
It can kinda work with an elaborate setup and a (liquid) desiccant cycle but in the end you still want the evaporation cooling outside, especially in the tropics where you have legionella practically instantly if you humidify anything indoors. And that will tank the efficiency. But it kinda works. The more humid the weather the hotter the regeneration of the desiccant has to be to work.
Video 1 Experimental setup indoors to show the concept
Video 2 Solar setup outside
The very term Air Conditioning refers to a technical system, that is deliberately influencing aka conditioning the properties of the air.
So yes, this is an ancient AC system.
Cool, but that's not what we mean when we say AC. The meanings of words change over time and AC is used almost exclusively to refer to a specific type of device so unambiguous that I don't usually have to explain which exact type of device I mean.
Otherwise literally just putting up a fan next to your window is technically AC. The term AC will lose all meaning.
The specific device that mostly works by fanning in air that is cooled by using evaporation? Seems very similiar to what the ancient people there had.
They didn't have an AC compressor, refrigerant, etc. Their system stops working when your humidity is too high.
It works on the same physical principle, but they're still very different in their usage, side effects and limitations.
Well a significant difference is that this increases humidity, while normal AC decreases it.
Thanks for pointing that out. My immediate thought upon reading the headline was how a/c could be implemented without electricity. I wondered if a compressor could be beast powered somehow. @FlyingSquid@lemmy.world should correct the title.