Thermomechanical Actuators, or Using Heat to Cool Off: A Lighthearted Review

Imagine a summer day in south-central Texas. Its easy if you try1. On a typical day, the temperature outside can soar well above 90 F. As a result, most Texas residents choose to spend the bulk of their summer days in comfortable temperature-controlled environments, in exchange for tallying up absurdly high electric bills. Add to this the fact that these cooling procedures are not very energy efficient, releasing waste heat into the environment (in fact, the bulk of the cost of your electric bill can ultimately be attributed to creating and expelling waste heat!). So it would seem that we are making the situation worse in the long run, and not getting the most for our money. But, hold on! Any novice physics student knows that heat is a form of energy! Why not harness this potentially limitless source of energy to our advantage, then? Why dont we put this heat to work? Why not use heat to cool off? The problem lies with physics.

1: Lennon, John. Imagine.

Page 1