Ben Bronsema, an 80-year-old recent Ph.D. graduate at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, has designed a hotel that can air-condition itself without the use of electricity, electric-run fans or other standard power sources.

Termed the "first (nearly) zero-energy hotel" by the Dutch Green Company — an Amsterdam-based developer that plans to use the engineer's idea for a hotel owned by the company, and due to open in 2017 — Bronsema's design is based off of a method he created himself, a concept he named the "Earth, Wind & Fire" system.

"People in America don't believe in air conditioning without fans. 'Well that's crazy, that can never work,' they say. But it will work, and we have to show it will work," said Bronsema on the credulity of his method, according to Fast Coexist.

So, how would this concept be put into practice? As per Bronsema's system, wind turbines push air into a chute that runs throughout the building, aided by streams of water. The bottom of the chute is effectively cooled and distributes itself throughout the building. In the end, the air filters out through a solar chimney, which heats the air again and forces it out of the building.

An added perk? The entire process is much quieter than the noise air conditioning fans make, creating a more serene and peaceful atmosphere in any given space.

"We don't need an air conditioning plant in these buildings. The building itself is the machine for air conditioning, if it can be applied," Bronsema said.

How will this self-cooling hotel stack up against a more traditional one, complete with a standard A/C system? We won't know for certain until it opens up for business in 2017, but Bronsema seems confident in his concept.

"The proof will be in the eating," he concluded. "It's very important the hotel is finished and people can come and experience it themselves."

Get more info on the proposed hotel, as well as a clip of Bronsema demonstrating his method, in the clips below.

 

 

Via: Fast Coexist