Open-air, air conditioned residential or recreational facility

Abstract

An open-air, air-conditioned residential or recreational facility in a climatically hot environment, said facility comprising: (i) a physical boundary surrounding the area of said facility and elevating to a predetermined height above the ground surface of said facility, wherein said boundary is adapted for reducing the lateral exchange of air between the area inside said boundary and the environment outside of said boundary; and (ii) an electrically-powered cooling system for cooling the ground of said area and the air near the ground surface of said area.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to an open-air, air-conditioned residential or recreational facility for a climatically hot environment. The invention further relates to a method of air-conditioning an open-air residential or recreational facility in a climatically hot environment. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In climatically hot places like in tropical or sub-tropical environments, temperatures during day time often exceed 35° and even 40° C. in the shadow. People living under such circumstances suffer significantly from the heat which frequently leads to health problems. In closed areas like buildings, air-conditioning may be used for reducing the temperature. In residential or recreational areas like parks, i.e. outdoors, no satisfactory cooling systems have been known. [0003] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an open-air, air-conditioned facility for a climatically hot environment. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The present ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] (i) a physical boundary surrounding the area of said facility and elevating to a predetermined height above the ground surface of said facility, wherein said boundary is adapted for reducing the lateral exchange of air between the area inside said boundary and the environment outside of said boundary; and

[0011] providing a physical boundary surrounding the area of said facility and elevating to a predetermined height above the ground surface of said facility, wherein said boundary is adapted for reducing the lateral exchange of air between the area inside said boundary and the environment outside of said boundary; and

[0014] The inventor has surprisingly identified a way of conditioning the air in large, open-air territories like in residential or recreational locations. Surprisingly, it was found that it is possible to maintain a significant temperature difference between the outside and the inside of said boundary using a relatively low height of said boundary, since the cooled air stays near the ground and does not give rise to convection. Thus, the inventor has found a way of artificially creating a micro climate of reduced temperature applicable to town construction. The invention is of particular use in hot tropical or sub-tropical environments where a reduction of the air temperature even by some degrees represents a substantial improvement for people suffering from an exceeding heat. The cooling system of the invention cools the ground of the area of said facility and / or the air near the ground. Said physical boundary surrounding said area is of sufficient height for reducing lateral exchange of air between the area inside said boundary and the outside environment of said boundary, thus preserving the coolness achieved by the cooling system.

[0016] The cool air inside said facility has a higher density than uncooled air outside said facility, leading to a higher air pressure at the ground inside said facility compared to outside said facility. Thus, the cool air inside said facility has a strong tendency to spread over a large area for reducing the thickness of the layer of cool air, whereby the cool air would dissipate and get lost. In this invention, spreading of cool air is restricted to the area inside said facility by said physical boundary. Thus, the cool air is kept inside said facility. In one embodiment, said physical boundary is free of significant openings (i.e. openings of a significant size) that would allow cool air from the inside to be pressed out to the environment. Cool air that is lost through openings in said boundary is replaced by uncooled air from above, whereby the layer of cooled air inside said facility becomes thinner and may vanish entirely. Said physical boundary should therefore not have openings that would lead to loss of cool air from the inside to the outside. On a length (in horizontal direction) of 100 m of the physical boundary, openings in the physical boundary should, together, not be bigger than 2 m2, preferably openings should not (together) be bigger than 3000 cm2, more preferably openings should (together) not be bigger than 1000 cm2, and most preferably such openings should (together) not be bigger than 500 cm2. Loss of cool air through minor openings may be compensated by the cooling power of said cooling system. It may also be possible to increase the cooling power, if openings are present. Significant openings at a certain height of said physical boundary will lead to an effective height of said physical boundary at the height of said significant openings. Said facility may of course have an occludable opening like an emergency exit or a sluice (lock) for entering or exiting said facility.

[0017] Said facility preferably has no access opening for people or vehicles in said physical boundary. People or vehicles may access the inside of said facility e.g. via a tunnel leading from the outside of said facility to an underground level of said facility to the surface of said facility may be reached. The access tunnel should have an occludable door for avoiding loss of cool air through said tunnel. Said underground level may have facilities like a parking lot for vehicles. Alternatively, people or vehicles may access the inside of said facility via a passing that bridges said physical boundary. Such a passing may comprise a ramp on both sides of said physical boundary, said ramp leading up to the top of said physical boundary. Such a passing is well suited for giving vehicles like cars access to said facility.

[0023] A solar power plant is preferably located outside said facility for keeping heat generated by said solar power plant outside said facility. It is preferred to locate the solar light absorption devices of the solar power plant next to said boundary on the outside of said facility. The solar light absorption devices may be located such that hot air ascending from a hot surface of a solar light absorption device may ascend in close proximity to said boundary. At the top of said boundary, said hot air may thus form a cushion of upwardly flowing warm air separating air inside said facility from air in the environment of said facility. Such an air cushion helps to protect the air inside said facility from being agitated by wind (see FIG. 5).

Problems solved by technology

People living under such circumstances suffer significantly from the heat which frequently leads to health problems.

In residential or recreational areas like parks, i.e. outdoors, no satisfactory cooling systems have been known.

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