11) Solar Chimney

An interesting system that we plan on integrating into the SunCottage is a solar chimney. An ancient geothermal technology where cool, underground air is sucked into a building through the tendency of hot air to rise. This diagram describes the concept. An outside air intake connects through a buried pipe to the inside of the house. Rising warm air exits the building through a chimney pulling chilly air into the house. Free passive air-conditioning.

Look for more info on the solar chimney on this Energy Education page.

In our situation we plan on locating the intake pipe near the stream on the south-side of the cottage. The summer air temperature in the shaded stream is normally 10° to 20° below that out in the open sun. We're also contemplating ​

​the idea of putting a copper coil in the intake pipe that extends into the stream to additionally cool the intake air. It's unclear if it will work, but it's worth a try. We measured the temperature of this mountain stream last summer and in late August it was a cool 59°. Waterfall downstream from the proposed solar chimney intake pipe:

The concept of using cold water to chill a house is an old one: "Windcatchers are sometimes used in conjunction with underground water canals to cool buildings. Hot air is drawn into the underground canal, where the water is kept cool because it is so far beneath the surface. The air is cooled by passing over the water, then it is directed up into the building." - see Ancient Air Conditioners article