Dynamic performance of a novel dew point air conditioning for the UK buildings

*Corresponding author: xudongzhao@nottingham. ac.uk Dynamic performance of a novel dew point air conditioning for the UK buildings... Xudong Zhao *, Zhiyin Duan, Changhong Zhan and Saffa B. Riffat School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK... Abstract This paper analysed the dynamic performance of a novel dew point evaporative cooling for air conditioning of buildings in the UK regions. The issues involved include analyses of the UK weather conditions, investigation of availability of water for dew point cooling, and assessment of cooling capacity of the system over various regions of the UK. It is concluded that the dew point system is suitable for most regions of the UK, particularly the regions around Finningley and Aberdeen where the climate is drier than other regions in summer. Lower humidity results in a higher difference between the dry bulb and dew point of the air, which benefits the system by enhancing its cooling performance. Tap water has an adequate temperature to feed the system for cooling and its consumption rate is in the range of 2.1 2.4 l/kwh output. The cooling output of the system ranges from 3.1 to 4.2 W/m 3 /h air flow rate in the UK, depending upon the region where the system is applied. For a unit with 2 kw of cooling output, the required air volume flow rate varies with its application location and is in the range of 500 570 m 3 /h. For a 100 m 2 building with 30 W/m 2 cooling load, if the system operates at working hours, i.e. 09:00 am to 05:00 pm, its daily water consumption would be in the range of 60 70 l. Compared with mild or humid climates, the dry and hot climates need less air volume flow rate and less water. Keywords: dew point; evaporative cooling; air conditioning; building; effectiveness; UK; building Received 12 December 2008; revised 24 January 2009; accepted 24 January 2009... 1 INTRODUCTION In the UK, energy use in buildings accounts for about 40% of its total primary energy consumptions. It contributes to similar proportions of the national total carbon emissions. Of this, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems consume approximately 50% of the building energy [1]. Reducing energy consumption of HVAC systems is therefore important in terms of controlling national carbon emissions. In recent years, frequent summer warm spells improved insulation of buildings and growth of indoor facilities have led to an increased requirement for air conditioning of the indoor environment. The conventional mechanical compression air conditioning systems consume huge amount of electrical energy that is largely dependent upon fossil fuel. This mode of air conditioning is, therefore, neither sustainable nor environment-friendly. Evaporative cooling utilizes the latent heat of water evaporation, a natural energy existing in the atmosphere, to perform air conditioning of buildings, and is therefore a potential replacement of the existing systems. However, evaporative cooling has encountered several technical difficulties that impede its wide application. Direct evaporative cooling adds moisture to room air, which causes unpleasant thermal comfort [2]. Indirect evaporative cooling lowers air temperature and avoids adding moisture to the air, but it limits the temperature of supply air to some degrees above the wet bulb of the outdoor air, which is too high to perform air conditioning of buildings [2,3]. The dew point (evaporative) cooling breaks the limit of wet bulb, and allows the supply air to be cooled to a level below the wet bulb and above the dew point of the outdoor air [4,5]. A new type of polygonal exchanger for dew point cooling has been recently developed as a result of the authors research, which allows an enhanced dew point effectiveness of up to 85% to be achieved [6]. Advance on dew point cooling technology opens up the opportunity for wide application of evaporative cooling for air conditioning of the buildings in UK. Although a great deal of initial research works have been carried out on the dew point cooling technology, a gap still exists between the research results and practical application, which mainly lies in the study of the suitability of the novel dew point technology for the UK climate and building construction. To narrow this gap, this paper investigated the most critical issues related to the dew point cooling application [7], including: (i) analysing the UK weather data to identify the International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35 # The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctp005 Advance Access Publication 9 March 2009 27

X. Zhao et al. suitability of dew point technology in the UK buildings; (ii) investigating the availability of water resource in the UK regions and estimating the water consumption rate of the dew point air conditioners; and (iii) working out the cooling output potential of the system and air flow rate needed for a typical building in the UK. 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEW POINT SYSTEM AND ITS APPLICATION IN BUILDINGS 2.1 Dew point heat and mass exchanger A polygonal sheets-stacked heat and mass exchanger was developed by the authors recently to perform dew point cooling of the buildings [6]. The polygonal sheets could be stacked together using guides of the same material, as shown in Figure 1, and one side of each sheet would be coated with a water-proof material to avoid water penetration. The intake air is brought into the dry channels from the lower part of the right-hand side of the stack. Operation is as follows: the air flows through the channels and is divided into two parts at the other end of the channels. One part of the air stream keeps moving in the same direction and is finally delivered to the space where cooling is required, and the other part of the airstream is diverted into the adjacent wet channels where the surfaces are wetted by water. The wet channels allow heat to be absorbed through the channel walls by vaporizing the water on the surfaces. The air in the wet channels flows in a reverse direction and is finally discharged to the atmosphere from the upper part of the right side of the stack. In this design, the dry channels contain both product and working air, and the wet channels take only working air, a division of the intake air. Because of the heat transfer between the dry-channels and their adjacent wet-channels, the product air in the dry channels will be cooled and the working air in the wet channels will be humidified and heated. The air treatment process can be illustrated through a Psychrometric Chart, as shown in Figure 2. Outdoor air with state O is initially pre-treated using a moisture controller which would allow its moisture content to be lowered to the same level as the indoor air, thus reaching a state of 0. The air Figure 2. Psychometric indication of the heat and moisture transfer in a dew point evaporative cooling system. O, fresh air; 0, fresh air after dehumidifier; 1, intake air; 2, supply air; 3, discharged air; I, indoor design condition. is then mixed with indoor air with state i, creating a new air state 1, which is the state of the intake air of the exchanger. The intake air is delivered into the dry channels, where it transfers heat to the adjacent wet channels, and is cooled from state 1 to 2, with no moisture added to the air. Part of the air is delivered to room space for cooling the space. The remaining air flows into the adjacent wet channel, where it initially becomes saturated because of absorbing moisture reserved on the channel surface, and then continues to absorb sensible heat and moisture owing to heat transfer between the dry and wet channels, which contributes to evaporation of water on the wet surface. The air is finally discharged to the atmosphere at the saturated and hot air streams, defined as state 3. For comfort air conditioning, the moisture level of indoor air could be varied within a wide range. This would allow the smallest possible moisture removal from the fresh air and minimized energy consumption used for air dehumidification. 2.2. Mathematical analyses of the cooling performance of the dew point system The cooling capacity of the dew point system can be calculated as follows: Q ¼ rv 2ðh 1 h 2 Þ ð1þ 3:6 The relationship between states 1, 2 and 3 can be expressed as follows: h 1 h 2 ¼ V 3 V 1 ðh 3 h 2 Þ ð2þ Figure 1. The polygonal stack exchanger configuration. 28 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35

A novel dew point air conditioning for the UK buildings h 2 ¼ h 1 h dp ðh 1 h dp Þ t 2 ¼ t 1 h dp ðt 1 t dp Þ d 2 ¼ d 1 h 3 ¼ h 2 þ V 1 V 3 ðh 1 h 2 Þ Obtaining the value of h 3, d 3 and t 3 can be acquired from the psychometric correlation equations of air accordingly. Water consumption per kwh cooling output will be: d 3 d 1 M ¼ 3600 ð7þ r w ðh 1 h 2 Þ To keep room air distribution in balance, fresh air flow volume should be same as the exhaust air flow volume, i.e. V 0 ¼ V 3, and the return air flow volume would be same as the supply air flow volume, i.e. V i ¼ V 2. In that case, the cooling capacity of the system can be calculated using the following equation: Q p ¼ c prv 2 ðt 1 t 2 Þ ð8þ 3:6 If room temperature is t i, the cooling energy used for removing internal sensible load can be written as: Q p1 ¼ c prv 2 ðt i t 2 Þ ð9þ 3:6 This part of cooling energy is defined as the effective cooling output, as it is used to remove internal load. The cooling energy used for removing fresh air load can be written as: Q p2 ¼ c prv 2 ðt 1 t i Þ ð10þ 3:6 For a 2-kW effective cooling output, the required volume flow rate can be calculated as follows: V 2 kw ¼ 2000V 2 Q p1 ð3þ ð4þ ð5þ ð6þ ð11þ Taking a 100 m 2 office building space with 30 W/m 2 cooling load as an example, if the system operation is limited to day-time, i.e. 09:00am to 17:00pm, then the total cooling energy required would be 100 30 8/1000 ¼ 24 Wh. The water consumption for the day-time office operation would be: M daily ¼ 24M: ð12þ 2.3. Configuration of the dew point air conditioner and its application in buildings This type of exchanger could be made as stand-alone units which would be positioned at the individual rooms of a house, or spaces in an office building. Alternatively, the exchanger may be integrated into a central air-handle unit. This application will allow air to be treated centrally by water evaporation and delivered to the individual room spaces through the pre-set ducting system. To ensure accurate control of the room air temperature and humidity, the process air may need a predehumidification treatment prior entering the dew point exchanger, which could be made using a silicon-gel pad with subsequent regeneration and cooling apparatus. This treatment enables a constant dew point for supply air to be obtained and subsequently, a constant cooling capacity to be achieved. 3 ANALYSES OF THE UK WEATHER DATA Weather data relevant to various locations of the UK were analysed. In the UK, six locations, i.e. London, Aberdeen, Aughton, Belfast, Birmingham and Finningley, were selected, which represent the typical climatic conditions presented in the UK regions. Hour-based weather data in summer season (June September) of a typical year, including dry-bulb, wet-bulb and dew point of ambient air, were examined. Temperature differences between dry bulb and dew point as well as dry bulb and wet bulb were calculated. This allowed the average, maximum and minimum values of those temperature items to be obtained, and frequency of temperature occurring in different bands recorded. Three operation schemes, i.e., 24 h, day time and night time, were considered and their relevant temperature profiles were generated correspondingly. Figures 3 5 show London temperature profiles in summer season at three operation schemes, i.e. 24-h, day time and night time, respectively. In London summer duration, ambient air temperature is in the range of 3.4 31.38C, and its average is 15.78C. In 90% of summer time, the air temperature fell into the temperature band of 15 258C. The average temperature difference between dry bulb and dew point is 58C, which is 28C higher than the difference of dry bulb and web bulb. In day time, this temperature difference is as high as 7.28C, which means that a higher cooling capacity can be achieved during day time than that in night. Weather data relevant to other locations of the UK were investigated but not presented in the form of diagrams because of limitation of the pages. Instead, a summary of weather data was given in Table 1. For 24-h operation, the statistical\frequency bands of temperature difference between dry bulb and dew point are presented in Figure 6, which indicates that in almost 80 90% of operation hours the temperature difference fell into the band of 0 108C. These form the database used for the design of dew point system to be used in the UK climate conditions. It was found that higher value of temperature difference between the dry bulb and dew point temperatures results in higher cooling capacity of the dew point system. If the temperature difference was 68C, and the cooling effectiveness of the dew point system were 0.85, a 5.18C temperature difference between supply air and room space would be International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35 29

X. Zhao et al. Figure 3. London temperature profile in summer season 24 h operation. Figure 4. London temperature profile in summer season day time only. 30 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35

A novel dew point air conditioning for the UK buildings Figure 5. London temperature profile night time only. Table 1 Statistic data of dry bulb and difference between dry bulb and dew point for the selected UK cities (24-h operation). Location Dry bulb (DB) (8C) Difference between DB and DP (dew point) (8C) London 31.3 3.4 15.7 25 0 5 Birmingham 30.4 2.3 15.2 22.5 0 4.8 Belfast 24.2 2.1 13.6 13.1 0 3.4 Aughton 24.8 5.5 14.2 13.5 0 3.7 Aberdeen 26-0.4 12.9 17.4 0 3.8 Finningley 30.8 4.6 14.9 28.1 0 5.6 achieved. This temperature difference would generate a significant amount of cooling energy to conduct air conditioning of the targeted space. For most regions of the UK, the relative air humidity is below 70%, which allows air to be treated by the dew point system directly without the need for dehumidification beforehand. The drier the air in this region, the better would be the performance of the dew point cooling system. The ideal regions for this application are Finningley (East Midlands), London (East of England), Birmingham (West Midlands) and Aberdeen (East of Scotland), where the climate is relatively drier than other locations in summer season. Other areas in the UK are also suitable for this application, but the performance of the dew point system is lower, because of relatively lower temperature difference between the dry bulb and dew point. 4 AVAILABILITY OF WATER SOURCE, TEMPERATURE LEVEL AND VOLUME CONSUMPTION Owing to its instantaneous supply and ease of connection, tap water is the most convenient medium used for the dew point system. To assess its availability, tap water temperature and volume consumption rate are the important concerns, which need to be taken into careful consideration. Ideally, tap water temperature should be lower than dew point of the atmosphere, which allows an effective cooling to be achieved when the system is in operation. Since tap water is delivered from the water source through the pipe services, and the pipes are embedded at the level of 50 100 cm below the ground, the water temperature will eventually reach the soil temperature at the same depth level. The monthly average water temperature in different locations of the UK is shown in Table 2 [8]. It was found that tap water temperature is about the same or slightly lower than the dew point of the atmosphere above the earth. This allows dew point cooling to be carried out in an effective way. In terms of water volume consumption, a calculation can be made based on the following assumptions: (i) discharge to total-air ratio is 0.5; and (ii) dew point effectiveness is 0.85. The calculation yields the water consumption rates in various regions of the entire area of UK, as shown in Table 3. In all regions of UK, water consumption rates are in the range of 2.1 2.4 l/kwh. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35 31

X. Zhao et al. Figure 6. Frequency bands of temperature difference between dry bulb and dew point (24-h operation). Table 2 Monthly average water temperature in the selected cities of the UK (8C). Month June July August September Location London 13.67 14.64 14.43 13.03 Birmingham 8.36 9.92 11.45 12.48 Belfast 8.05 9.30 10.53 11.36 Aughton 11.11 11.98 12.19 11.65 Aberdeen 9.78 10.53 10.72 10.25 Finningley 8.25 9.74 11.21 12.19 Taking a 100-m 2 office building space with average cooling load of 30 W/m 2 as an example, if the system is running only at day time, i.e. 09:00 am to 05:00 pm, a calculation was made to work out its daily water consumption, which was found in the range of 58 70 l/day. Dry and hot climatic regions usually consume more water than that of mild and humid regions. 5 COOLING CAPACITY AND AIR FLOW RATE SCALE OF THE DEW POINT COOLING SYSTEM Cooling capacity of the dew point system were calculated using Equations 1 9. Based on 1 m 3 /h of air supply/discharge flow rate, the calculations yielded the system s total cooling capacity, as well as the ventilation load associated with the system operation, which is the energy used for bringing temperature of intake air from outdoor down to indoor level. As a result, the net cooling output, known as the effective cooling capacity, is a figure of total cooling capacity subtracted by the ventilation load. The effective cooling capacity is dependent on the Table 3 Average water consumption of the dew point system in different locations of the UK. Country City Water consumption rate (average) (l/kwh) Tap water temperature (average) (%) UK London 2.2 13.94 70 Aberdeen 2.2 10.32 60 Aughton 2.24 11.73 60 Belfast 2.23 9.81 60 Birmingham 2.21 10.55 59 Finningley 2.14 10.35 58 Daily water consumption for the targeted building (average) (l) weather condition, particularly dry-bulb, wet-bulb and dew point of the ambient air, and therefore, varies from one location to other. The results for London are shown in Figures 7 9. A summary of average cooling capacity of UK cities over the summer duration is given in Table 4. In **London summer duration, cooling capacity varies from 0 to 7.2 W/m 3 /h air flow rate, and its average is 3.7. In 90% of summer time, cooling capacity is in the range 0 5 W/ m 3 /h. Three operation modes, i.e. 24-h, day time and night time, were addressed; each presenting its own cooling profile as shown in Figures 7 9, respectively. In night time, the effective cooling capacity is slightly higher than that in day time, as night time ventilation load is a bit lower. Comparison among the selected UK cities indicated that the effective unit cooling capacity of the dew point system varies from one city to another. Higher ambient temperature leads to a lower effective cooling capacity as larger part of cooling energy generated from the system is used for removing the ventilation load. Higher ambient humidity also reduces the system s cooling capacity because of the smaller temperature 32 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35

A novel dew point air conditioning for the UK buildings Figure 7. Cooling capacity per unit air volume flow rate London, 24-h operation. Figure 8. Cooling capacity per unit air volume flow rate London, day time operation. difference between its dry-bulb and dew point. In the UK, the effective cooling capacity is in the range of 3.7 4.2 W/m 3 /h. Finningley gets the highest and London the lowest. For a fixed effective cooling output of 2 kw, and the required volume flow rate can be calculated using Equation (11). The results for the selected UK cities are presented in Table 4. The cities with lower unit cooling capacity require higher volume flow rate in order to meet the required cooling requirement, i.e. 2 kw fixed effective cooling. In the UK, the volume flow rate varies from one city to another and in the range of 500 570 m 3 /h. Aberdeen is the lowest, followed by Finningley, Aughton, Belfast, Birmingham and London is the highest. Investigation was also made over the issue of moisture removal. To retain a comfortable indoor air condition, the intake air should be maintained at a humidity level of 70% and below. This requirement can be achieved for all the selected cities in the UK, therefore it is unnecessary to remove the moisture from air. The time frequency and average volume for moisture removal are calculated and the results are also shown in Table 4. 6 CONCLUSIONS The dew point air-conditioning system is suitable for the most UK regions, particularly Finningley and Aberdeen regions International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35 33

X. Zhao et al. Figure 9. Cooling capacity per unit air volume flow rate London, night time operation. Table 4 Cooling capacity, air flow rate and moisture removal issues in the selected cities. Country City Moisture removal frequency (%) Average moisture removal (g/kg dry air) Cooling capacity (W/m 3 /h) Air flow rate for 2 kw effective cooling output UK London 0 0 3.7 570 Aberdeen 0 0 4.1 507 Aughton 0 0 3.8 550 Belfast 0 0 3.8 560 Birmingham 0 0 3.8 568 Finningley 0 0 4.14 518 owing to the fact that the eastern regions of UK have a relatively dry and mild climate in summer seasons. Lower relative humidity results in higher temperature difference between the dry bulb and dew point temperatures, and higher cooling capacity of the dew point system. If air is at a relative humidity of 70% or below, the dew point system could be used for cooling of the buildings. Tap water can be easily used to support cooling of the dew point system. Its temperature is about the same and slightly lower than the dew point of the ambient air, which ensures the effectiveness of cooling. The water consumption rate varies with the region where the system applies, but is usually in the range of 2 2.5 l/kwh output. The cooling output of the dew point system varies with the region where the system applies, but is usually in the range of 3.6 4.5 W/m 3 /h air-flow. Lower ambient temperature leads to a higher effective cooling capacity as larger part of cooling energy generated from the system is used for removing the internal load. Lower ambient humidity also increases the system s cooling capacity because of the higher temperature difference between its dry-bulb and dew point. In general, UK has a relatively mild climate in summer, which is suitable for the system s application. For a fixed effective cooling output, e.g. 2 kw, the required volume flow rate varies from one location to another. The cities with lower unit cooling capacity require higher volume flow rate. In UK, volume flow rate for 2 kw cooling varies from 500 570 m 3 /h. To retain a comfortable indoor air condition, the intake air should be maintained at a humidity level of 70% and below. This is achievable for all the selected UK cities. So there are no pre-dehumidification requirements for all the selected UK cities. Taking a 100 m 2 of building with 30 W/m 2 cooling load as an example, if the dew point system is in operation during day time, i.e. 09:00 am to 05:00 pm, its daily water consumption would be in the range of 58 70 l/day. The system consumes more water at dry and hot climatic regions than mild and humid regions. Because of mild summer weather condition and relatively lower cooling requirement of the buildings, the dew point system could be made as a stand-alone unit, which is suitable for being fitted in a room space. For some public buildings which need large amount of air supply and cooling requirement, 34 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35

A novel dew point air conditioning for the UK buildings such as libraries, hospitals and factories, the central air-handling unit should be considered for this application. NOMENCLATURE c p specific heat of air (kj/kg.8c) d moisture content of air (kg/kg dry air) h enthalpy of air (kj/kg dry air) M water consumption rate per kwh cooling output (l/kwh) M daily daily water consumption for the selected building (l/day) Q Cooling capacity of the dew point system (W) Q p cooling output of the supply air (W) Q p1 internal sensible load taken by the supply air (W) Q p2 fresh air load taken by the supply air (W) t temperature of air (8C) V air volume flow rate (m 3 /h) V target air volume flow rate for the target building (m 3 /h) r air density (1.2 kg/m 3 ) r w density of water (1 kg/l) dew point effectiveness h d Subscripts O outdoor air 0 fresh air after the dehumidifier i indoor air 1 intake air 2 supply air 3 discharging air dp dew point ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to thank the support of ICUK (Innovation China UK) in this project. REFERENCES [1] Ortiz J, Pout C. G. Figure. Build Serv J 2006, 38 40 [2] http://www.idalex.com/how_it_works_-_engineering_perspective.htm [3] Stoitchkov NJ, Dimitrov G. Effectiveness of crossflow plate heat exchanger for indirect evaporative cooling. Int J Refrig 1998;21:463 71. [4] Maisotsenko V. Method and plate apparatus for dew point evaporative cooler, US Patent 6,581,402, June 24, 2003. [5] Coolerado Product catalog, Coolerado HMXs, Coolerado Corporation, Arvada, Colorado, USA, 2006. [6] Zhao Z, Li JM, Riffat SB. Numerical study of a novel counter-flow heat and mass exchanger for dew point evaporative cooling. Appl Thermal Eng 2008;28:1942 51. [7] Zhao X. Feasibility study of novel dew point air conditioning for the UK and China buildings. Research Proposal to ICUK Partnership Grant. June 2008. [8] http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/cfm/weather_data2.cfm/ region=6_europe_wmo_region_6/. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2009, 4, 27 35 35