Final Project – Solar Refrigerator – DIY Science Fall 2015

How to: Solar Refrigerator

The hotter it gets, the more important it is for cool food to stay cold!

There are 2 types of solar refrigerators –
the high tech expensive kind
(use a solar panel to power a normal-functioning refrigerator
the also technical but less expensive kind
(uses a coolant heated up by the sun to draw heat out of the refrigerator)
This will be an attempt to create one of the second kind

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most common cooling materials: lithium bromide or ammonia

* ammonia is poisonous, so must handle with caution

single-effect devices coefficient of performance: 0.6-0.7
(60 to 70 Btus of cooling for every Btus of input heat)
Btus – British thermal units

REALLY BASIC MATERIALS
some pipe
a bucket of water
some calcium chloride (absorbent)
ammonia or lithium bromide (as refrigerant)
sheet of shiny metal (solar collector)
something with good insulation to work as refrigerator

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solar-refrigeration/

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Solar ammonia absorption ice maker – good pictures, diagrams, & descriptions
http://www.free-energy-info.com/P13.pdf

Their description of materials and pricing:
Quan Material Cost
4 Sheets galvanized metal, 26 ga. $100
1 3″ Black Iron Pipe, 21′ length $75
120 Sq. Ft. Mirror Plastic @$0.50/sq. ft. $60
2 1/4″ Stainless Steel Valves $50
Evaporator/Tank (4″ pipe) $40
Freezer Box (free if scavenged) $40
1 Sheet 3/4″ plywood $20
6 2x4s, 10 ft long $20
Miscellaneous 1/4″ plumbing $20
2 3″ caps $15
1 1/4″ Black Iron Pipe, 21′ length $15
4 78″ long 1.5″ angle iron supports $15
Other hardware $15
15 Lbs. Ammonia @ $1/lb $15
10 Lbs. Calcium Chloride @ $1/lb $10
Total $510