Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Delivery Capabilities of Solid-Desiccant Rotor-Based Air-Conditioning for Warm to Hot and Humid Climates—A Critical Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Revisiting the Goal of Air-Conditioning Installation in the Built Environment
2.1. Thermal Comfort Factors and Requirements in Built Environment
2.2. Adaptive Approach to Thermal Comfort
2.3. Indoor Air Quality
3. Overview of Research/Studies on Solid-Desiccant-Based Air-Conditioning
3.1. Single-Rotor System Configurations
3.1.1. Single Rotor—Basic Configuration
3.1.2. Simple Configuration with an Enthalpy Exchanger
3.1.3. Single-Rotor System with Cooling Supplied by Chilled Water
3.2. Two-Stage Dehumidification System
3.2.1. Two-Stage Dehumidification Systems with Ventilation and Recirculation Modes
3.2.2. Two-Stage Dehumidification System with Chilled Water as the Cooling Medium
4. Potential Advantages and Drawbacks of the Desiccant-Based Air-Conditioning System
4.1. Potential Advantages
4.2. Drawbacks
4.2.1. Inevitable Heating of Air While Being Dehumidified
4.2.2. Need for Desiccant Regeneration and Low Thermal COP Paradox
4.2.3. Limited Options for Regeneration Heat Sources
4.2.4. Limited Options for Reliable Cooling
4.2.5. Low Electrical COP
4.2.6. Counterintuitive Addition of Moisture to Air during the Evaporative Cooling Process
4.2.7. Thermal Comfort Performance Delivery Questioned
5. Conclusions and Future Research Directions
- The solid-desiccant rotor as the core component of this technology to provide the air dehumidification suffers from significant thermal performance degradation due to the need for (a) significant heat for the desiccant regeneration and (b) recooling of air as it exits the rotor.
- The initial and noble case for reducing reliance on the electricity powered by fossil fuels suffers setbacks due to the lack of alternative reliable fossil-free energy sources to provide the regeneration heat. This is further exacerbated by the generally low system thermal performance.
- Inclusion of direct evaporative coolers in many system configurations practically nullifies the initial goal of dehumidifying the air before it is admitted to a conditioned space. The use of dew point coolers that do not humidify the air as the substitute may potentially improve the system thermal performance. However, further studies are required to evaluate this potential.
- The points mentioned above seem to have led to the development of the solid-desiccant rotor-cooling technology with more components that thermally nullify each other’s roles in bringing about air conditions suitable for the thermal comfort of occupants of an air-conditioned space.
- Recent studies have started turning away from open-cycle sorption cooling with the desiccant rotor being one of its core components.
- Currently, thermal and electrical COPs are the main indices for evaluating performance of the desiccant-solid systems. However, these indices lack common references when comparing competing technologies. Widely acceptable performance indices need to be developed to enable a proper evaluation of the viability of this technology against its competing counterparts, in particular conventional vapor-compression air-conditioning systems. These indices should take into account the thermal and electrical performance as well as the thermal comfort delivery capability of each technology.
- A recent surge in popularity of PV systems has provided the option of achieving thermal comfort from a cleaner energy source using conventional vapor-compression refrigeration technologies.
- A breakthrough in the solid-desiccant rotor cooling system, component design, and performance improvement seems the only pathway for this technology to maintain its relevance. To date, this has not been convincingly demonstrated.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Halawa, E.; Bruno, F. Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Delivery Capabilities of Solid-Desiccant Rotor-Based Air-Conditioning for Warm to Hot and Humid Climates—A Critical Review. Energies 2023, 16, 6032. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16166032
Halawa E, Bruno F. Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Delivery Capabilities of Solid-Desiccant Rotor-Based Air-Conditioning for Warm to Hot and Humid Climates—A Critical Review. Energies. 2023; 16(16):6032. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16166032
Chicago/Turabian StyleHalawa, Edward, and Frank Bruno. 2023. "Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Delivery Capabilities of Solid-Desiccant Rotor-Based Air-Conditioning for Warm to Hot and Humid Climates—A Critical Review" Energies 16, no. 16: 6032. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16166032