A vortex tube system powered by solar energy for cooling and heating of buildings

The consumption of electricity for air conditioning in buildings has been increasing in the last decade or so, especially in hot and humid climate countries. Conventional air conditioning systems consume electricity generated from fossil fuels, resulting in emissions of greenhouse gases. By contrast, electricity produced by solar energy via photovoltaic cells is reliable and environment-friendly. A vortex tube is a device that produces a vortex flow by supplying a compressed air into a vortex chamber and then separating it into cold and hot airstreams. Similar to photovoltaic cells, the device is simple in construction, reliable and environmentally friendly. The adverse environmental effect of cooling and heating buildings can be reduced or even eliminated using a vortex tube system powered by solar energy. This paper presents results of a study of a vortex tube for space cooling and heating. The performance of the vortex tube was determined experimentally for different inlet air pressure. Potential application of the vortex tube system powered by solar energy for providing space cooling and heating in building was illustrated.