Cooling with heat

Cooling is one of the elementary needs of humans, because it guarantees a constant supply of food. The Romans fetched ice from the Alps and transported it to the cities.   

Increasing expectations for comfort standards in the home and regular "summers of the century" are causing a rising demand for air conditioning in Europe. Modern architecture with large glass surfaces and internal heat sources such as computers, lighting and other electrical equipment also require cooling capacity. In Europe it is mainly offices, warehouses and industrial buildings which are cooled. The cooling demand for housing varies greatly. In private buildings in Central Europe around 50 to 200 cooling hours are incurred, in the southern Mediterranean region it can be as much as 1000 hours. 

If the relevant preconditions are fulfilled, using heat to cool is a real alternative to conventional air conditioning systems. Problematic refrigerants such as CFC and HFC are avoided and CO2 emissions are decisively reduced through electricity savings.