Title

Desiccant enhanced air conditioning (DEAC). An approach to improved comfort

Abstract

The dessicant-enhanced air conditioner (DEAC) concept uses a desiccant wheel to pre-cool and humidify return air before it enters the cooling coil and to heat and dehumidify the supply air after it leaves the coil. A unique feature of this process is that regeneration of the desiccant is accomplished by the return air rather than an external heat source. The result of the DEAC psychrometric process is increased dehumidification of supply air at a higher apparatus dew point (ADP) temperature. This allows maintaining higher efficiency of the air conditioner while improving dehumidification. When DEAC performance (EER as a function of SHR) was compared to other electric DX AC options (a variable speed and a single speed system with heat pipes) using a parametric study, the DEAC system provided superior EER at lower SHR values. In the present paper, the performance of a DEAC (configured as a single speed DX system with desiccant wheel) in a modeled Miami residence is compared to the following DX air conditioner options: single speed, single speed with heat pipes, variable speed, variable speed with heat pipes, and variable speed configured as a DEAC. For humid climate regions, the results show that the DEAC approach can offer superior performance based on a differential ratio of comfort to cost. The DEAC performance is also compared to that of a high efficiency and high SHR air conditioner for the modeled residence. The comparison was made inten different cities. The results indicate that for comparable comfort conditions, the DEAC can save as much as 6.5 × 106 Mega Watt hours of energy per year for the estimated area of potential residential DEAC users (Southeast/Gulf coast regions).

Publication Date

12-1-1993

Publication Title

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Advanced Energy Systems Division (Publication) AES

Volume

29

Number of Pages

129-138

Document Type

Article

Identifier

scopus

Socpus ID

0027851574 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0027851574

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