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Applicability of indirect evaporative cooler for energy recovery in hot and humid areas: Comparison with heat recovery wheel

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  • Min, Yunran
  • Chen, Yi
  • Shi, Wenchao
  • Yang, Hongxing

Abstract

The indirect evaporative cooler (IEC), used as a novel energy recovery component for central air-conditioning (AC) systems, can cool and dehumidify the fresh air by capturing the waste thermal energy of exhaust air. To facilitate its implementation in hot and humid areas, the applicability of the hybrid AC system integrated with IEC needs to be addressed. This study quantitatively evaluated the cooling and energy-saving potentials of an IEC for energy recovery and compared it to a traditional hybrid AC system with a heat recovery wheel (HRW). On-site performance measurements were conducted in a wet market located in Hong Kong, where two air-handling units were integrated with a newly-designed IEC prototype and a commercial HRW respectively. Simulation models of the two hybrid AC systems were established based on TRNSYS platform by incorporating the numerical model of IEC and HRW respectively. The field-measurement data was used to validate the component models, and further calibrate the system models. To compare the regional adaptability of the two systems, annual simulations were conducted among 8 selected cities in southern China. Results showed that the total cooling capacities of IEC and HRW are closely related to local ambient relative humidity. Compared with the baseline AC system, the AC + IEC provides an annual energy saving intensity of 64.2–73.4 MJ/m2 for cities with hot and moderate humid climates, which is more competitive than the AC + HRW (45.5–51.8 MJ/m2). The annual energy saving ratios of the two types of hybrid systems range from 14.4% to 26.4%.

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  • Min, Yunran & Chen, Yi & Shi, Wenchao & Yang, Hongxing, 2021. "Applicability of indirect evaporative cooler for energy recovery in hot and humid areas: Comparison with heat recovery wheel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:287:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921001458
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116607
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Qu, Ke & Barreto, Germilly & Iten, Muriel & Wang, Yuhao & Riffat, Saffa, 2023. "Energy and thermal performance of optimised hollow fibre liquid desiccant cooling and dehumidification systems in mediterranean regions: Modelling, validation and case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    4. Shi, Wenchao & Min, Yunran & Ma, Xiaochen & Chen, Yi & Yang, Hongxing, 2022. "Dynamic performance evaluation of porous indirect evaporative cooling system with intermittent spraying strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    5. Qian Chen & Muhammad Burhan & M Kum Ja & Muhammad Wakil Shahzad & Doskhan Ybyraiymkul & Hongfei Zheng & Xin Cui & Kim Choon Ng, 2022. "Hybrid Indirect Evaporative Cooling-Mechanical Vapor Compression System: A Mini-Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Ma, Xiaochen & Shi, Wenchao & Yang, Hongxing, 2022. "Study on water spraying distribution to improve the energy recovery performance of indirect evaporative coolers with nozzle arrangement optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).

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