Method and apparatus for cooling a room

A cooling apparatus for climatically conditioning a room via radiant heat exchange, comprising:

• at least one cooling element for radiant heat exchange with the room to be conditioned;
• and
• a refrigerating unit for alternating operation of the cooling element between a cooling phase and a regeneration phase, wherein cooling phases occur primarily when the room to be conditioned is in use and regeneration phases occur primarily when the room to be conditioned is not in use;
• wherein during the cooling phase the temperature of the cooling element is set at a temperature sufficiently low to freeze any condensate formed on the cooling element and to maintain the frozen condensate as ice on the cooling element during the cooling phase, such that radiant heat exchange between the ice on the cooling element and the ambient air of the room being conditioned climatically conditions the room.

A cooling apparatus for climatically conditioning a room primarily by radiant heat exchange, comprising:

• at least one cooling element for radiant heat exchange with the room to be conditioned;
• a refrigerating unit for providing a cooling phase operation by setting and maintaining the temperature of the cooling element sufficiently low to freeze any condensate formed on the cooling element;
• and
• a condensate tray arranged beneath the cooling element such that an inner surface of the condensate tray faces the cooling element, wherein the condensate tray includes an inner reflective surface, an outer absorbent surface for preventing condensation formation, and an insulation layer between the inner and outer surfaces to thermally insulate the inner surface from the outer surface.

A cooling apparatus for climatically conditioning a room by radiant heat exchange, comprising:

• at least one cooling element for radiant heat exchange with the room to be climatically conditioned;
• a refrigerating unit for providing a cooling phase operation by setting and maintaining the temperature of the cooling element sufficiently low to freeze any condensate formed on the cooling element;
• a condensate tray arranged beneath the cooling element such that an inside surface of the condensate tray faces the cooling element, wherein an outside surface of the condensate tray is thermally insulated from the inside surface;
• and
• a floor-supported stand which supports both the at least one cooling element and the condensate tray.

A cooling apparatus for climatically conditioning a room by radiant heat exchange, comprising:

• at least one cooling element for cooling a room by radiant heat exchange, wherein the cooling element is designed as a tube, as an evaporator, or as a Peltier element;
• partially flexible feed and drain lines for connecting the cooling element to a refrigerating unit, the refrigerating unit providing a cooling phase operation by setting and maintaining the temperature of the cooling element sufficiently low to freeze any condensate formed on the cooling element;
• and
• a condensate tray arranged beneath the cooling element such that an inside surface of the condensate tray faces the cooling element, wherein an outside surface of the condensate tray is thermally insulated from the inside surface;
• and
• a floor-supported stand which supports both the at least one cooling element and the condensate tray.