New heatsink could cut US electricity use 7%

[mooncliff]

Full Sandia Lab paper in link.

http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...ocessing-power

There are still a lot of efficiency improvements and negawatts out there. We dont need more power; we need to use a lot less to get the same standard.

[c1ue]

Re: New heatsink could cut US electricity use 7%

So spinning heat sinks can generate 7 percent of total US electricity use?

Sounds nice. It would work if of course you replace every single air conditioner and refrigerator with this new heat sink and said heat sink performs according to theoretical specification (30% improvement in efficiency).

But of course a lot of the 'wasted' electricity isn't due to design, it is due to things like dust building up on the condenser coils.

[mooncliff]

Re: New heatsink could cut US electricity use 7%

The air conditioners, refrigerators, etc., would have to work much less hard to move the heat to dispose of it, so you would get the same amount of cooling for much, much less electricity.

Yes, now is the time to clean the heat dissipation coils on your air conditioners.

Also, if you have the type of refrigerator with heat dissipation coils under the refrigerator (you can tell because warm air blows out on your feet), you need to clean that with a long brush every year, and now is the season to do it. I clean all the refrigerator coils for my aunts and uncles because it is too difficult for them. I also clean the coils for people who just can never remember to do it. If you do not clean the coils, within about a year, it can get clogged with dust, and then the heat cannot escape and the refrigerator just runs all the time, wasting electricity. I cleaned the coils for one friend and his electric bill dropped $200 a year. It was completely clogged with dust.

Another friend didnt clean his coils, and he had pets, and the pet hair clogged up the coils, AND IT CAUGHT FIRE!

You can probably find long bottle brushes at a dollar store or an aquarium shop. You probably want about a 2 foot long flexible wire one like is used to clean tubes in aquariums. Unplug the refrigerator, try to pull as much of the dust out, and I suppose if all else fails, an electric leaf blower might work.

[Starving Steve]

Re: New heatsink could cut US electricity use 7%

So spinning heat sinks can generate 7 percent of total US electricity use?

Sounds nice. It would work if of course you replace every single air conditioner and refrigerator with this new heat sink and said heat sink performs according to theoretical specification (30% improvement in efficiency).

But of course a lot of the 'wasted' electricity isn't due to design, it is due to things like dust building up on the condenser coils.

An old saying, "The proof of the pudding is in the tasting." The real test of the new fan is how much energy will it really save in a house, and what will be the new fan's durability? How often would you have to replace it? What would wear-out? Cost to buy? Cost to repair?

Diesel engines and diesel cars are LOVELY on paper; their fuel efficiency is truly remarkable. But when you own one, the repair costs and maintenance costs are considerable. The glow plugs die. The crank-shaft and knuckle bearings that connect the piston rods to the crank-shaft die. The oil is always filthy. The fuel gels in cold weather. The fuel injectors go. The compression drops as the engine wears due to dirty oil, piston rings and piston pins die, oil and fuel filters need to be changed, constantly..... on and on and on, with repairs and servicing. So diesel cars depreciate like ice cream..... In the end, they cost more money to operate than they save in fuel. Engine replacements cost far more than engine replacements for a gas engine. Such lunacy might pass in Europe, but in America and Canada, diesel motors have a bad reputation. Only truckers want them because only diesels deliver the power and fuel efficiency that truckers need.

This new fan of yours from Sandia Labs may be a sick joke over the long-run, like a diesel motor is now.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: New heatsink could cut US electricity use 7%

I looked at the popular science blurb and the Sandia report.

This is very, very clever design work, combining the heat sink and fan blade into one structure, and then getting some great additional benefits for boundary layer mitigation and self-cleaning.

Loads of applications, thermal management is everywhere in everything.
Nice find

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: New heatsink could cut US electricity use 7%

So spinning heat sinks can generate 7 percent of total US electricity use?

Sounds nice. It would work if of course you replace every single air conditioner and refrigerator with this new heat sink and said heat sink performs according to theoretical specification (30% improvement in efficiency).

But of course a lot of the 'wasted' electricity isn't due to design, it is due to things like dust building up on the condenser coils.

I agree, the total potential electricity saving are probably overblown. BTW, low dust accumulation is one of the unexpected benefits of this better mouse trap. Link through to the Sandia article to read about it.

Never put down a step up. I've designed enclosures for electronics that use fans and heat sinks. There are a surprising number of them in the world, and their power needs add up because there are vast millions of them running night and day.

When it hits the market, I'd be happy to invest in the manufacturer. I expect they'll do pretty well, like Molex for electrical connectors that are in everything, or Destaco that sells those little toggle clamps to everyone in the developed world.

This thing strikes me as fully legitimate and highly effective, a real leap forward in the narrow niche of electronic heat sinks and device cooling.