[HN Gopher] Equium: Acoustic Heat Pumps ___________________________________________________________________ Equium: Acoustic Heat Pumps Author : arsalanb Score : 26 points Date : 2023-01-03 21:27 UTC (1 hours ago) (HTM) web link (www.equium.fr) (TXT) w3m dump (www.equium.fr) | aaron695 wrote: | [dead] | kragen wrote: | probably if you are trying to understand how this works it would | be useful to read | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoacoustic_heat_engine | NegativeLatency wrote: | Kinda fuzzy on how this works/what the tradeoffs are? | | Looks like it's creating a standing pressure wave and then | tapping into the colder or hotter part as appropriate? | | Based on the diagrams it seems like it would need a radiator or | something for larger surface area? | | Also curious as to how loud it is. | arsalanb wrote: | It uses the acoustic wave to expand and contract pressurized | helium, and then conduct heat created from the subsequent | pressure oscillation. | | Source: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/01/02/residential- | thermo-ac... | | Which I just noticed was posted a few hours ago, here: | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34233719 | twobitshifter wrote: | Same question about how loud it is. Wikipedia says | thermoacoustic engines work at 180db, which is the sound of a | pound of TNT being detonated 15 feet away. | MayeulC wrote: | Meh. This is a pressure wave. I wouldn't be surprised if | tapping your finger on the table creates more pressure than | that. Or hammering a nail, at least1. | | Even your TNT figure has a distance indication. Pressure | decreases with the square of the distance when it dissipates | as a sphere. Doubling the distance = -6 dB | | 1 20*log(k)=180 => k=1e9, factor to reach between rest state | and max pressure, I think. | arsalanb wrote: | Probably not. A similar acoustic heat pump company | (https://www.blueheartenergy.com/ourtechnology) claims 30 db, | so this is probably going to be in the ball park. | pjerem wrote: | > 180db, which is the sound of a pound of TNT being detonated | 15 feet away. | | Sounds like that can be a bit annoying | elliottkember wrote: | Fortunately, they're only annoying for a very short time | brnt wrote: | Plus, it'll be the last time ever you hear anything | annoying at all. | dcroley wrote: | Equium claims that the heat pump system is completely silent, | despite the use of a speaker to generate the acoustic wave. | The level of noise is reportedly lower than 30 dB - the | equivalent of a whisper. | | "The sound our system produces stays confined inside the | core, so you cannot hear it from outside," said Loyer. | arsalanb wrote: | I imagine this is possible because of better modulation of | the acoustic and pressure controllers to minimize energy | loss.. | MayeulC wrote: | What's the efficiency compared to traditional compressors? I | imagine there are a lot of opportunity for thermal energy to leak | on the sides... | | Edit: 20-30%, up to 40%, according to wikipedia. | idiotsecant wrote: | I am building right now and my state (washington) recently | decided no more natural gas heat, heat pumps only. That's great | for the warmer side of the state but most heat pumps don't work | great when it's 10 below - they approach zero efficiency the | colder it gets. Blueheart seems to claim they can output 60C on | the hot end when the cold end is -20C. In addition, EQUIUM | seems to claim a 30 year lifetime on their acoustic chamber | because it has essentially no moving parts, it's just a | pressure vessel. If both of these things are true it could | eventually be an advantage over heat pumps for people in cold | conditions or people who are sensitive to maintenance costs | once the technology is mature. | | Or all the (very vague) specs could be marketing junk and it's | vaporware. Neat either way. | alexose wrote: | Super cool to see someone trying to commercialize this | technology. Fun fact is that the JWST cryocooler operates on a | similar principle (although the implementation is quite | different). | | Relatedly, I found this fantastic video on to how to use the | thermoacoustic effect for heating and cooling a few months back: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkBBkQ8jFRY ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-01-03 23:00 UTC)