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Re:Giant batteries and cheap solar power are shoving fossil ... by kragen on Friday July 12, 2019 @04:18PM (#20424109)
Yeah, there are ammonia-absorption refrigeration devices that can run on any source of concentrated heat, including concentrated sunlight (though not merely the ambient temperature). This is considerably more efficient than going through 16%-efficient photovoltaic panels first. Ammonia refrigeration has some safety issues (upon overheating, they release a giant cloud of caustic, inflammable gas) but in this case they would be substantially reduced by putting the unit out in the yard, not inside the house.

Ammonia absorption does not require violating the Third Law as some commenters have suggested below. It is less efficient than the Carnot limit, so you cannot use it to get a perpetuum mobile.

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