 Poster: A snowHead
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The city of Bibai, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, is using stored snow (formed into ice blocks) in a municipal building to reduce the energy costs of producing cool air in summer.
A 2-ton ice block is combined with pooled water, and the cooled water is sent to two separate cooling systems. The cooling systems "can sufficiently cool a 30-tatami-mat room". [anyone care to explain that term?] "A 2-ton snow block is put into the pool every Saturday. The snow cooling system will be in operation at the city hall until Aug. 20."
The above quotes are from this report in Mainichi Daily News.
Storing snow and ice is, of course, an ancient tradition. There are 'ice houses' all over Britain from the days before powered refrigeration, though these were generally used to cool drinks and make ice cream. I think the invention of ice cream, using these methods, goes way back in history.
How new this Japanese air-conditioning idea is, I'm not sure.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 30-07-05 16:51; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Goldsmith,
I have a 150 year old map, on which our farm is included, but it clearly shows and labels an ice hole beside the River Bann, which is about 1.5 miles from our house.
I presume it was used to preserve Salmon?? Also would the climate have been cooler 150 years ago? I can't see it being much use today?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Not sure of the expression 'ice hole'. Ice harvesting was very widespread, though.
Here's an old US newspaper on the subject, with great illustrations: Harvesting Ice on the Hudson.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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A Tatami mat is a traditional Japanese floor covering. A woven rush or reed mat 3 ft x 6 ft. Japanese are very 'area' conscious. Few snowHeads would have a clue about the floor area of their housing. A Nippon will know it to the nearest Tatami. So a 30 mat room will be 30 x 3 x 6 = 540 sq ft ~= 50 sq metres or 7 x7m which is pretty big for a Japanese room. Or have I ballsed up the rifmetic ???
http://tatamiroom.com/cgi-local/catalog.pl?category=TATAMI_MATS-10
The window rattler type of A/Cs have always been sold as 1 ton, 1.5 ton, 2 ton capacity so perhaps this is a hark back to the old days ??
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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So called Ice holes served the same purpose as Ice houses, typically ice was harvested in huge chunks from nearby lakes/ponds during winter and used to completely fill the starage chamber, often these chambers are constructed either completely or at least partially bellow ground with incredibly thick walls for insulation, when constructed below ground a small hole was often left in the top of a typically dome shaped roof so that the ice could simply be dropped in from above, thus Ice Hole, typically a passegeway would lead into the house near it's base to allow for removal of Ice during spring and summer months, in addition a drain would take away any melt water.
Ice houses allowed the rich estates to produce cooling drinks and ice creams well into the summer months, the ice would typically be taken in a bucket from the ice house to the "big house" where it would be crushed and mixed with rock salt, this mixture would then be used to cool or freeze other substances such as ice cream or fresh clean water for use in drinks etc.
Ice houses fell out of use once comercial refrigeration became possible, although they were still used well into the 20th century especially in more isolated locations where comercially produced ice was not available, they would never have been used anyone other than the upper classes because no one else could have afforded to build them, indeed ice cream only came to the masses in the early 20th century prior to this only the rich could afford the ice in the summer
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I make 50 sq m to be approximately 2.406 nanoWales, the Wales (equal to 20,779 km2) being the standard unit of area in British journalism.
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Alan Craggs, that room would have a very lumpy floor then.
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laundryman, ah, but covered in the finest fleeces 
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