Sept. 4, 2012: DOE Student Competition Winner Designs 30 Percent More Efficient Wall-Mount A/C
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that a University of Maryland team has won its first Max Tech and Beyond Appliance Design Competition. The student challenge, which involved nine teams, aims to inspire students to pursue energy efficiency improvements in home and commercial appliances, helping to develop innovative ultra-efficient products.
The University of Maryland team chose to simplify the design of a standard wall-mounted air conditioner by separating the systems that remove humidity and provide cooling. After the students tested a fully functional prototype, they found that the design reduced energy use by 30 percent compared with typical wall-mounted air conditioners on the market. Because the current largest consumer of electricity in most homes nationwide is the air conditioning system, this design has the potential to substantially decrease residential energy use and save consumers money, said DOE.