HumidifierA humidifier is a household appliance or device designed to increase the moisture level in the air within a room or an enclosed space. It achieves this by emitting water vapor or steam into the surrounding air, thereby raising the humidity levels. In the home, point-of-use what humidifiers are commonly used to humidify a single room, while whole-house or furnace humidifiers, which connect to a home's HVAC system, provide humidity to the entire house. Medical ventilators often include humidifiers for increased patient comfort.
Absorption refrigeratorAn absorption refrigerator is a refrigerator that uses a heat source (e.g., solar energy, a fossil-fueled flame, waste heat from factories, or district heating systems) to provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. The system uses two coolants, the first of which performs evaporative cooling and is then absorbed into the second coolant; heat is needed to reset the two coolants to their initial states. The principle can also be used to air-condition buildings using the waste heat from a gas turbine or water heater.
Ice house (building)An ice house, or icehouse, is a building used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation. During the winter, ice and snow would be cut from lakes or rivers, taken into the ice house, and packed with insulation (often straw or sawdust).
CoolingCooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or phase change. Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling. The transfer of thermal energy may occur via thermal radiation, heat conduction or convection. Examples can be as simple as reducing temperature of a coffee. Coolant Cooling towers, as used in large industrial plants and power stations Daytime passive radiative cooler Evaporative cooler Heat exchanger Heat pipe Heat sink HVAC (Heating, Ventila
Air handlerAn air handler, or air handling unit (often abbreviated to AHU), is a device used to regulate and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. An air handler is usually a large metal box containing a blower, furnace or A/C elements, filter racks or chambers, sound attenuators, and dampers. Air handlers usually connect to a ductwork ventilation system that distributes the conditioned air through the building and returns it to the AHU.
YakhchālA yakhchāl (یخچال "ice pit"; yakh meaning "ice" and chāl meaning "pit") is an ancient type of ice house, which also made ice. They are primarily found in the Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e-Kavir deserts, whose climates range from cold (BWk) to hot (BWh) desert regions. In present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, the term yakhchāl is also used to refer to modern refrigerators. The structure typically had a domed shape above ground, a subterranean storage space, shade walls, and ice pools.
Legionnaires' diseaseLegionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of Legionella bacteria, quite often Legionella pneumophila. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle pains, and headaches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. This often begins 2–10 days after exposure. A legionellosis is any disease caused by Legionella, including Legionnaires' disease (a pneumonia), Pontiac fever (a nonpneumonia illness), and Pittsburgh pneumonia, but Legionnaires' disease is the most common, so mentions of legionellosis often refer to Legionnaires' disease.
EvaporatorAn evaporator is a device used to turn a liquid into a gas. Some air conditioners and refrigerators use compressed liquids with a low boiling point that vaporizes within the system to cool it, whilst emitting the thermal energy into its surroundings. Evaporators are often used to concentrate a solution. One example is the climbing/falling film plate evaporator, which is used to make condensed milk. Similarly, reduction (cooking) is a process of evaporating liquids from a solution to produce a "reduced" food product, such as wine reduction.
PsychrometricsPsychrometrics (or psychrometry, ; also called hygrometry) is the field of engineering concerned with the physical and thermodynamic properties of gas-vapor mixtures. Although the principles of psychrometry apply to any physical system consisting of gas-vapor mixtures, the most common system of interest is the mixture of water vapor and air, because of its application in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning and meteorology.
Solar chimneyA solar chimney - often referred to as a thermal chimney - is a way of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy. A simple description of a solar chimney is that of a vertical shaft utilizing solar energy to enhance the natural stack ventilation through a building. The solar chimney has been in use for centuries, particularly in the Middle East and Near East by the Persians, as well as in Europe by the Romans.
