Gree, the world’s largest residential AC manufacturer, in partnership with Tsinghua University, selected as a Winner in the Global Cooling Prize

Gree—the world’s largest manufacturer of residential air conditioners—is collaborating with Tsinghua University, one of the top engineering universities in the world, to develop a superefficient and climate-smart residential cooling solution.

Technology Description

Gree’s innovative Zero Carbon Source cooling technology integrates advanced vapor compression refrigeration, photovoltaic direct-driven technology, evaporative cooling, and ventilation, which efficiently utilizes renewable energy sources and free cooling sources. Gree’s cooling solution has an automatic, climate-smart operation with three unique modes—vapor compression refrigeration, evaporative cooling, and ventilation—that can operate individually or in parallel depending on the outside weather conditions to provide optimized indoor cooling and dehumidification.

The vapor compression refrigeration system adopts a parallel compression cycle with dual evaporation temperature. It uses an ingenious compressor with a low-GWP (global warming potential) refrigerant in conjunction with improved design of evaporator and evaporative condenser to more effectively control indoor temperature and relative humidity. Furthermore, the photovoltaic direct-driven technology further lowers the overall grid electricity consumption. This climate-adaptive residential air conditioner has 5X lower climate impact than today’s conventional air conditioners. Gree’s cooling solution highlights how the upper efficiency limit of today’s predominant technology—vapor compression technology—can be largely expanded through smart, hybrid design.