An Option for Energy Efficiency and Water Production at Cape Town
Summary:
The thermal capacity of seawater off Cape Town’s coast can be applied to reduce the energy consumption of commercial scale refrigerators and air-conditioners as well as sustain the energy efficient operation of refrigeration-based technology that extracts potable water from humid air.
Introduction:
During successive summer seasons that extend over a period of decades, the City of Cape Town has encouraged citizens to save water. The usual weather patter involves winter rainfall that is stored in mountain dams to provide Cape Town with water over the hot and dry summer season. Perhaps as a result of changing weather patterns occurring internationally, the winter of 2016 recorded unusually low levels of rainfall in the catchment areas for Cape Town’s main dams. The result was that...