Comments on: Cooling Downtown with Seawater in Honolulu

By: preshy.

preshy. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:03:28 +0000

75%..?wow..i'll believe it when i see it..

By: preshy.

preshy. — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:03:28 +0000

75%..?wow..i'll believe it when i see it..

By: lauriesanford

lauriesanford — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:05:53 +0000

In response to Nick's comment, having high rises, that block the natural cooling trade winds in Hawaii and having buildings in which the windows don't open are both problems. However that is the configuration of the downtown of Honolulu right now. I have no idea what it would cost to redo most of the windows in the city and the chances of flattening the buildings seems highly unlikely. I also think though, that whether or not a place feels “hot” or “cold” is up to the residents of that place to a large degree and while air conditioning is much less prevalent in Hawaii than in other warm places, it still exists. Jen is right that humidity and it's resultant mold is a serious comfort and health problem that is emerging into awareness in Hawaii. Additionally so is VOG, naturally occuring from the ongoing volcanic eruptions. Sept./Oct. tend to be times when 'Kona winds' (warm westerly winds) prevail and Hawaii is naturally warmer. I love this idea! Using the cool ocean waters that are right off the downtown area to help reduce air conditioning and potentially other electricity use seems like a great idea! I don't know about the science that a previous commentator mentioned that might bring co2 to the surface in this process. I would love to hear more about that! But Hawaii is one place that ought to be able to become sustainably self-sufficient in terms of energy use and food production with it's wealth of wind, sun, ocean, It's relatively small size and it's culture of inter-dependancy and probably the best weather and climate on earth!

By: jenboynton

jenboynton — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:57:13 +0000

I think it's not so much the heat as the humidity- with open air all the time there are big mold considerations. But operable windows are a no-brainer in pretty much any climate.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:03:02 +0000

I'm no scientist. I've read that below a certain depth, around 3,500 feet I think, calcium carbonate, CaCO3, the stuff of shells and diatom skeletons, dissociates to Ca++ and H2CO3 due to water pressure and temperature. I’m not sure, but I think if you pump that water to the surface, the H2CO3 turns into water and CO2. If it does, some of the deep water schemes may have to rethink. Any ideas?

By: nickaster

nickaster — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:17:21 +0000

I love this kind of novel technology use, but in the case of Honolulu it seems like over-design to me. Do people really need air conditioning in Hawaii? The temperature is almost always perfect… it c ould be a little warm on some days, so that's when you open a window. If downtown buildings were simply designed with operable windows instead of being impermeable boxes, you wouldn't need to spend all the money on a system like this, or AC at all!