Full Description

In hot and humid regions, removal of moisture from the air using conventional air conditioners represents a considerable portion of the air conditioning load. Desiccant assisted air conditioners (A/C) are used to overcome this problem. In this work, the performance of a hybrid A/C, which consists of a desiccant wheel, an enthalpy wheel, and a vapor compression cycle (VCC), is investigated experimentally. The desiccant wheel is made of a new desiccant material, which can be regenerated with a low temperature heat source, as low as 45C (113F). The effect of the process air streams temperature and humidity, and the effect of the ventilation rate are investigated. The experimental results show that the hybrid A/C is more effective than the standalone VCC in maintaining the indoor conditions within the comfort zone. The simulation of the complete solar hybrid A/C that uses a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal collector shows that a system coefficient of performance higher than unity is possible.

Citation: ASHRAE Papers CD: 2014 ASHRAE Winter Conference, New York, NY

Product Details

Published: 2014 Number of Pages: 9File Size: 1 file , 2.9 MB Product Code(s): D-NY-14-C079