IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i13p3475-d1692532.html

Comparative Life Cycle Analysis for Duct Air Conditioning Systems Based on Evaporative and Vapor Compression Technologies

Author

Listed:
  • Andrzej Marcinkowski

    (Institute of Marketing and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Organization and Management, Lodz University of Technology, ul. Wólczańska 221, 93-005 Łódź, Poland)

  • Dmytro Levchenko

    (Institute of Marketing and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Organization and Management, Lodz University of Technology, ul. Wólczańska 221, 93-005 Łódź, Poland)

Abstract

The environmental impact of innovative indirect regenerative evaporative cooling (IREC) technology is analyzed using the life cycle assessment. This study compared typical equipment using this technology from Innovative Ideas LLC with available-on-the-market traditional vapor compression ducted air conditioning systems as the closest analogous representatives of the vapor compression technology. For comparison, units with the same cooling capacity (5 kW) were selected. The endpoint indicators demonstrated that the air conditioning systems using IREC technology had lower environmental load compared to the vapor compression system by 29–70%, depending on the scenario and damage category. This advantage resulted from the significantly higher coefficient of performance of the IREC system. The amounts of cooling energy generated and electricity consumption were determined based on temperature and relative humidity data recorded at hourly intervals in the summer seasons of 2023 and 2024. The operation turned out to be a life cycle stage with dominating environmental load. The uncertainty analysis carried out with Monte Carlo simulations indicated significant deviation, particularly for the ecosystem category. The sensitivity analysis showed that the assumed electricity mix did not significantly affect the general conclusions.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrzej Marcinkowski & Dmytro Levchenko, 2025. "Comparative Life Cycle Analysis for Duct Air Conditioning Systems Based on Evaporative and Vapor Compression Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-26, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:13:p:3475-:d:1692532
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/13/3475/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/13/3475/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ko, Jaedeok & Jeong, Ji Hwan, 2024. "Status and challenges of vapor compression air conditioning and heat pump systems for electric vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 375(C).
    2. Zhu, Guangya & Wen, Tao & Wang, Qunwei & Xu, Xiaoyu, 2022. "A review of dew-point evaporative cooling: Recent advances and future development," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    3. Zhang, Long & Jiang, Yiqiang & Dong, Jiankai & Yao, Yang, 2018. "Advances in vapor compression air source heat pump system in cold regions: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 353-365.
    4. Xiao, Xin & Liu, Jinjin, 2024. "A state-of-art review of dew point evaporative cooling technology and integrated applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    5. Mahmood, Muhammad H. & Sultan, Muhammad & Miyazaki, Takahiko & Koyama, Shigeru & Maisotsenko, Valeriy S., 2016. "Overview of the Maisotsenko cycle – A way towards dew point evaporative cooling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 537-555.
    6. Jaehun Lim & Myung Sup Yoon & Turki Al-Qahtani & Yujin Nam, 2019. "Feasibility Study on Variable-Speed Air Conditioner under Hot Climate based on Real-Scale Experiment and Energy Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-14, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiao, Xin & Liu, Jinjin, 2024. "A state-of-art review of dew point evaporative cooling technology and integrated applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    2. Wang, B.C. & Chen, Z. & Wei, C.D. & Ding, J.N. & Cheng, G.G. & Bui, D.T., 2025. "Energy-efficient cooling in tropical climates: Integrating desiccant wheels with novel dew-point evaporative cooler designs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    3. Wang, B.C. & Chen, Z. & You, G.L. & Ding, J.N. & Cheng, G.G. & Bui, T.D., 2024. "Performance assessment of a high-efficiency indirect dew-point evaporative cooler through three-dimensional modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    4. Shuxue, Xu & Yueyue, Wang & Jianhui, Niu & Guoyuan, Ma, 2020. "‘Coal-to-electricity’ project is ongoing in north China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    5. Muhsin Kılıç, 2022. "Evaluation of Combined Thermal–Mechanical Compression Systems: A Review for Energy Efficient Sustainable Cooling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-38, October.
    6. Shi, Peng & Wang, Lin-Shu & Schwartz, Paul & Hofbauer, Peter, 2020. "State-wide comparative analysis of the cost saving potential of Vuilleumier heat pumps in residential houses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    7. Yang, Jangho & Lee, Cheng-Yi & Muehlbauer, Jan & Hwang, Yunho, 2025. "Advanced defrosting techniques in air source heat pumps: A review of vapor injection, thermal energy storage, and experimental frost accumulation data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    8. Schlosser, F. & Jesper, M. & Vogelsang, J. & Walmsley, T.G. & Arpagaus, C. & Hesselbach, J., 2020. "Large-scale heat pumps: Applications, performance, economic feasibility and industrial integration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    9. Zhang, Ce & Hou, Beiran & Li, Minxia & Dang, Chaobin & Chen, Xun & Li, Xiuming & Han, Zongwei, 2025. "Feasibility analysis of multi-mode data center liquid cooling system integrated with Carnot battery energy storage module," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    10. Jesper, Mateo & Schlosser, Florian & Pag, Felix & Walmsley, Timothy Gordon & Schmitt, Bastian & Vajen, Klaus, 2021. "Large-scale heat pumps: Uptake and performance modelling of market-available devices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    11. Oh, Seung Jin & Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil & Burhan, Muhammad & Chun, Wongee & Kian Jon, Chua & KumJa, M. & Ng, Kim Choon, 2019. "Approaches to energy efficiency in air conditioning: A comparative study on purge configurations for indirect evaporative cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 505-515.
    12. Mohamed, Elamin & Riffat, Saffa & Omer, Siddig & Zeinelabdein, Rami, 2019. "A comprehensive investigation of using mutual air and water heating in multi-functional DX-SAMHP for moderate cold climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 582-600.
    13. Li, Jiaxu & Song, Qinglu & Wu, Wei & Wang, Dechang & Jiang, Xianguo & Zhou, Sai, 2025. "Energy, exergy, economic and environmental (4E) analysis of zeotropic mixture recuperative heat pump and vapor injection heat pump," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    14. Joshua M. Pearce & Nelson Sommerfeldt, 2021. "Economics of Grid-Tied Solar Photovoltaic Systems Coupled to Heat Pumps: The Case of Northern Climates of the U.S. and Canada," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Jia, Teng & Dou, Pengbo & Chu, Peng & Dai, Yanjun, 2020. "Proposal and performance analysis of a novel solar-assisted resorption-subcooled compression hybrid heat pump system for space heating in cold climate condition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 1136-1150.
    16. Yan, Weichao & Cui, Xin & Meng, Xiangzhao & Yang, Chuanjun & Liu, Yilin & An, Hui & Jin, Liwen, 2023. "Effects of membrane characteristics on the evaporative cooling performance for hollow fiber membrane modules," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    17. Jia, Teng & Dai, Enqian & Dai, Yanjun, 2019. "Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of a balanced-type single-stage NH3-H2O absorption-resorption heat pump cycle for residential heating application," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 120-134.
    18. Łukasz Stefaniak & Agnieszka Grabka & Juliusz Walaszczyk & Krzysztof Rajski & Jan Danielewicz & Wiktoria Jaskóła & Maja Wochniak & Weronika Żyta, 2025. "Enhancing Dewpoint Indirect Evaporative Cooling with Intermittent Water Spraying and Advanced Materials: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-24, April.
    19. Le, Khoa Xuan & Huang, Ming Jun & Shah, Nikhilkumar N. & Wilson, Christopher & Artain, Paul Mac & Byrne, Raymond & Hewitt, Neil J., 2019. "Techno-economic assessment of cascade air-to-water heat pump retrofitted into residential buildings using experimentally validated simulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 633-652.
    20. Angel Andrade & Juan Zapata-Mina & Alvaro Restrepo, 2023. "Assessment of the Correlation between Energy Rating Labeling Regulations and Performance Metrics for Residential Air Conditioning Units: Case Study Variable Type Air Conditioners," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(5), pages 432-441, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:13:p:3475-:d:1692532. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.