So I have been googling my brains out on natural gas/waste heat powered air conditioning. There are lots of happy tree hugger articles about new "green" natural gas heat pumps, both engine powered and absorption powered, but I can't find a single one for sale.
This is the closest thing I've found to what I'd like:
http://www.yazakienergy.com/waterfired.htm
Hot water = cold water
Problem is the smallest one is 10 tons of cooling. And I hate to ask the price.
Does anybody know of an absorption chiller or other natural gas type air conditioning sized for a normal house? I'm considering building my own heat pump using automotive A/C parts and a natural gas fired engine...but I hate to reinvent the wheel....
I looked into this issue just 6 months ago. Those Lithium Bromide absorption coolers are really great, and should be used widely for air conditioning systems but alas, no small units are available, and as far as I could find, there is only the one commercial manufacturer- in the world.
I need a small unit (capacity comparable to an auto compressor system) myself, so please let me know if you find something.
Maybe modify a LP freezer or refrigerator to freeze large block of ice. Then blow the air over the ice. Some old time churches were cooled this way.
This outfit claims to have something in the 2-5 ton range available:
http://www.scusolar.org/technology.thermal
Typically, the cost per ton is very high when you reduce the tonnage from commercial size.
Bob B.
Or freeze the block with a coil and fin unit buried in it, and circulate water/brine/antifreeze solution thru the coil unit to a fan coil unit in your central air system...
I had an apartment in DC that was heated and cooled this way. There was a big trough across the room under the coil. Water condensed on the coil dripped in the trough and went down the drain. If humidity is the reason AC is needed this could work well.