The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THURSDAY, AUGUST ll, 2015 . wareuoo CHRONICLE . 3 ' Making cooling a breeze O O O O I O UW grad suggests wind towers could replace expensive, polluting air conditioners Minus JACKSON assistant professor at the KN. Toosi University to the comfort provided by _ . 3 . ._ . Chronicle Slag of Technology in Tehran, Iran. where he has a traditional air condition- “ % taught courses on energy transfer within build- er or hot and humid days, "wk _ _ ‘ . - University of Waterloo graduate and ings, renewable energymd HVAC systems. Soltani said the Middle Fast .» » i __‘_ Aim“ on energy transfer is looking to He is the director of the HVAC and Energy is accustomed to days with ' ‘ I ‘ "‘ ring oennlries~old cooling techniques lab at the university. and also works with the 40C of higher, and many w : fromtheMiddleEasttoNonhArnericainabid iranianDepanmentoiEnergy. areasinCanadahavewind “m to cut our air conditioning costs and reduce The ancient wind towers that dot the city speeds greater than are 4"” greenhousegasemiam'ons, landscapesolthe MiddleEascincludinginn. formdiniranorlraqrnean- - Dr. Madjid 80th a PhD. grad from UW lraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United ing wind catching towers fl’v‘afifi in 2012, believes simple wind towers (also Arab Emirates, inspired him, and many still could beveryefleai'vehere. " * , ‘ ;‘ knownaswindcatdiers)plnoedonthetopsof standingtodayareupwardsoi700yearsold. When hewasresearch- buildings in the windiest regions ofthe country Some even have pools of water at the base ing the systems, he said could harness the wind and provide cooling of the wind channel and as the wind passes some of the buildings that and air circulation. dramatically reducing the over it, the evaporation of the water enhances used the combination of need for highâ€"energy cooling systems. the cooling efiect otthe wind. wind catchers and water _ "lhereis a huge potential (in Canada) for Sohani envisions the towers being placed to cool the air were nearly this system, especially in the east." said Soltani on top of people's homes. businesses and even as cool as air conditioned during a public talk at UW last week. part of a large commercial centres such as malls or are building: in North America. lecture series organized by the Waterloo lnstj- nos. Dozens would be required for larger build- ”You can't believe it,’ he rule for Sustainable Energy. ings. said. The idea is rather simple. The wind catcher He said he's still looking for partnerships in is a column with a rotating head that moves Ottawa and Montreal to test his design. into the direction of the wind. The air is Chan» There are of course some limitations to the ”Ill/I’ll]; [I’ll/I’ll], ‘ neled down a column and enters the room or technology. Bugs and pollution could easily 7"_""' "'.'""‘ building. To maximize airflow and wind move- enter buildings. and the high humidityin North I I I II I I ment. at least one other wind catcher should be America compared to the Middle East would I g m I I ‘ placed on the roof to allowthe air to escape. also pose a challenge. I . I I it creates air movement through the build- Those can be overcome with rather simple I 5 ’ fl . , ing, cooling it and maximizing airflow. The modifications, such as screens and filters to I I g I rotating head can also be raised or lowered on keep the air pure and dehumidifier units to I ’ I I the column in order to capture the most air, keepthe humidity low. I I ’ t and a window at the bottom of the air channel When asked if the towers would work in I ‘ I I I I I can be closed if needed to block the air from Nonh America where people are accustomed ' (illllllllll A, I 4' I I ::"J' entering. I 1 The benefits of such a decidedly lowiech ’ ’ 5 g 5 I 5 I“; I ,I ‘ solution are numerous.$oltani said. I . I I I I I I III . I I ”There is almost no expense or cost.” he A PhD. graduate from the University of I I ’ I . 4 I ‘ ’ I II [I I said. There are no electrical components in Waterloo is pitching a centuriesold concept '1 ‘ l ,‘ I , ‘ ,4 I ‘ , "I '1 the tower, and virtually no maintenance is 0f wind catcher WIN?“ used for hundreds 0f I I ' I I y I III II ’I I required. The only expense is the initial capital V935 “’0“ the M'dd'e East (‘00 "“3991 it I I g I I I 1 I I I I1: I ’I I I cost to build them and some minor upkeep. ._ ., . . . I I’ I I I . I t, I . ’I I 'lhe building sector accounts for more than D" MadlId Soltant s we" ("9’“) "Wow“ ("(u‘ I I I ' ’ I I ’ I I ’1 I 40 per rent of total energy consumption. he I” towers placed on top 0' butldlngs that can ’ I ’ ' I I l I I ’I I said, and of that, the energy used for ventila “in“ and move up and down ‘0 marlmlze I ’ I I I I ’ tirm heating and cooling systems accounts for “and flow. The Wind enters the bmldlng and ’l/ [A m M I] II I/ more than 60 per cent of total energy consumpr 53:31:: $1233" 2312:32236irsdngg the â€"â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"g ~â€"»-â€"‘â€"‘:â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"-â€" â€"â€"â€"£ II II 4â€"~â€" non. g (y 9 ' â€" _ 'IIIIII III II III/III ”Modern (wind) towers can reduce energy w mâ€"fl 1 consumption by 20 to 80 per cent. according to I“"’”‘“""“" "' ““0”“ “I“ i very preliminary results,” said Soltani. now an Wt 73“ ., W h ,,__ A q 7~3__V_fl_fl_~__3 3__ 3 j Al I ENTION BUSINESSES'" ‘ ~ ' I I I fi' B ;;~-. "- ~ ' - ‘£t:-I- o if?“ ' ‘ é ‘ -2]; . t1; .. * â€"- c _ = - , s. . t. 3% IMPRESSION; .3: , '. M W. 3‘ I ' :3” , _- ‘ :_ 5.5;; ‘ I w '- ‘ . ~'_ 3““ I ., - :‘. ;â€" ‘ L . ‘ . F 4.15 553.35: _ .. ’ " e . F? “N" ' 7 'â€"-§â€"_--‘ 7 - __ » ' "‘ ’ gn- _ ., [I l \ _ - m. .,__. \VATFRWTUMNIGECQII M Andoroon 519 623 3050 out. 232 V OUR VIESBAGE 4 - mun-“um I”... '