Researchers have built the first refrigerant-free system to reach sub-zero temperatures, a breakthrough that could reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Imaging if this technology could cool a data centre.

Edit: I was not involved in this project. You are wasting your time asking me questions.

  • Gladaed@feddit.orgEnglish
    19·
    17 hours ago

    You can’t. It’s a different kind of heat pump.

    If it is more efficient than vacuum-compression it’s good.

    Most refrigerants are extremely toxic and extreme green house gasses. But there are safer alternatives, eg. CO2.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
      3·
      16 hours ago

      I don’t think shape change materials are all that efficient. The problem being is you still need some mechanism to compress the material again, which obviously uses energy. As you say their main advantage is that they don’t use traditional refrigerants. But the trade-off for that is that they are mechanically more complicated and probably for any given amount of cooling will require more electricity.

      You can trade those off with renewable energy sources of course so it may still be worth it but technically they are worse efficiency than traditional vacuum pumps.

      • Gladaed@feddit.orgEnglish
        1·
        9 hours ago

        Some sources claim much higher efficiency. This makes sense to me since you are not limited by your coolant’s properties so much and don’t have to maintain pressure. But I can’t do in depth research for you.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
          1·
          2 hours ago

          What sources?

          The article doesn’t list any. All it says is they reached a cooling temperature of -12°C, but has no information on the energy used to achieve that.