Review

HVAC dehumidication systems for thermal comfort:

a critical review
Pietro Mazzei
*
, Francesco Minichiello, Daniele Palma
DETEC, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Received 29 November 2003; accepted 25 July 2004
Abstract
This paper, on the basis of the main literature indications, deals with moisture control in buildings dur-
ing the summer season; so, the dehumidication of the air is analysed. Dehumidication is considered as a
key feature of HVAC systems for thermal comfort. Initially, the principles of mechanical and chemical
dehumidication are shown. The rst one utilises mechanical meanscompression refrigeration sys-
temsto cool the air and so to dehumidify it; the latter removes the water vapour from the air by trans-
ferring it towards a desiccant material (adsorption or absorption). In the mechanical dehumidication eld,
a proper control of ambient temperature and humidity can be obtained by means of an air handling unit
(AHU) which treats outside air alone, while recirculating air is treated by a simple cooling coil. Various
possible AHU congurations are examined. Afterwards, HVAC systems for a theatre and for a supermar-
ket are analysed. The use of hybrid systems with desiccant wheel for these applications has provided the
following main results: remarkable savings in operating costs and higher plant costs (a simple payback time
of 23 years for supermarket); a notable reduction of the power electric demand; a better control of ambient
humidity.
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: HVAC systems; Dehumidication; Chemical desiccants
1359-4311/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2004.07.014
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 081 7682301; fax: +39 081 2390364.
E-mail addresses: mazzei@unina.it (P. Mazzei), minichie@unina.it (F. Minichiello).
www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng
Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Contents
1. Introduction and background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1. Mechanical dehumidification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2. Chemical dehumidification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. HVAC dehumidification systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1. HVAC systems with mechanical dehumidification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2. Hybrid HVAC systems with chemical dehumidification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3. Some applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Appendix A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1. Introduction and background
Why dehumidify? Narrowing the eld down to the air-conditioning of buildings and assuming
that the aim is to maintain comfort conditions, it is clear that the air to be supplied (for simplic-
ity one can refer to the supply of the outdoor air ow alone in the minimum quantity, that is the
amount indispensable to guarantee the requirements of air quality) should have a lower humid-
ity ratio
1
compared with that of indoor air so as to balance indoor moisture production (prin-
cipally due to the occupants metabolism and thus to the main activity in which they are
engaged). However, in summer the humidity ratio of outside air is normally higher than the in-
door humidity ratio: and thus the need to dehumidify (see Appendix). The design of HVAC sys-
tems for thermal comfort requires increasing attention, especially in the light of recent
regulations/standardisation on ventilation [18], so that an optimal level of indoor humidity
may be reached and maintained to ensure a comfortable and healthy environment
2
and to avoid
condensation damage for building envelope and furnishings. Since the paper focuses on dehu-
midication issues, the fundamental concepts referred to mechanical and chemical dehumidica-
tion are briey exposed.
1
Humidity ratio of a given moist air sample is dened as the ratio of the mass of the water vapour to the mass of dry
air contained in the sample.
2
ASHRAE Standard 622001 [3] addresses the need to control indoor humidity: relative humidity in habitable
spaces preferably should be maintained between 30% and 60% relative humidity to minimize growth of allergenic and
pathogenic organisms.
2 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Nomenclature
c
p
constant pressure specic heat, J/(kg K)
F
bp
by-pass factor,
h specic enthalpy of the humid air, J/kg
Dh
lv
vaporization specic enthalpy, J/kg
_ m air mass ow rate, kg/s
MCDB mean coincident dry bulb, C
MCWB mean coincident wet bulb, C
N number of occupants,
O.A. outdoor air fraction in the mixed air ow,
p pressure, Pa
q specic thermal power, W/(kg/s)
_
Q thermal power or thermal load, W
SHR sensible to total Heat load Ratio,
T temperature, C
DT temperature dierence, C
T
db
= DB dry bulb temperature, C
T
wb
wet bulb temperature, C
T
dp
= DP dew point temperature, C
T
sur
cooling coil surface mean temperature, C
_
V air ow rate, m
3
/s
v velocity, m/s
D dierence between values,
/ relative humidity of the humid air,
q volumic mass (density) mean value, kg/m
3
x specic humidity (humidity ratio), kg
v
/kg
a
(or g
v
/kg
a
)
A state of the air leaving cooling coil
AHU air handling unit
CC cooling coil
COP coecient of performance
CVAAS constant volume all air system
DBTCS control system based on dry bulb temperature
DC dehumidicator capacity
DEC direct evaporative cooling
DW desiccant wheel
HC heating coil
HTX heat exchanger
HVAC heating ventilating air conditioning
IAQ indoor air quality
IEC indirect evaporative cooling
NC normally closed (damper)
NO normally opened (damper)
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 3
ARTICLE IN PRESS
1.1. Mechanical dehumidication
Mechanical dehumidication is widely known to be based on cooling [9]. The humidity of the
air to be treated is characterised by dew point temperature, T
dp,1
, Fig. 1. If the air comes into con-
tact with a cooling coil whose mean surface temperature, T
sur
, is less than T
dp,1
, condensation of a
part of the water vapour, and thus dehumidication, is obtained. With reference to Fig. 1, the uni-
tary thermal power to be subtracted (ignoring condensate energy) is taken as:
q
cc;T

_
Q
cc
= _ m
a
h
1
h
2
h
1
h
3
h
3
h
2
q
cc;LAT
q
cc;SEN
: 1
For the cooling coil the following parameter is really important:
SHR
cc
q
cc;SEN
=q
cc;T
: 2
PID proportional, integral, dierential controller
RHCS control system based on re-heating
VAV variable air volume
Subscripts
a referred to dry air
cc referred to cooling coil
DE referred to dehumidicator
hc referred to heating coil
in referred to inlet conditions
LAT referred to latent load
m referred to mixed air
new referred to a new value
o referred to outdoor air
old referred to an old value
out referred to outlet conditions
r referred to indoor/recirculation air
s referred to supply air
sat referred to saturated humid air
SEN referred to sensible load
T referred to total load
u unitary
v referred to humid air vapour
vent referred to ventilation air or ventilation load
w referred to water
z referred to zone
1 referred to state 1
Superscript
d referred to design conditions
4 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Its maximum value is one (the cooling coil has no dehumidifying eect: only sensible cooling),
the minimum is zero (the cooling coil has no cooling eect: only dehumidication) [10].
For example, referring to an all-air system with constant ow rate serving one zone (CVAAS),
the calculation of thermal loads for design conditions leads to the evaluation of the parameter:
SHR
d
z
q
z;SEN
=q
z;T
: 3
These loads can be balanced according to the two processes reported in Fig. 2. In process (a) the
cooling coil is placed downstream of the point where outdoor and recirculated airow rates mix;
in process (b) mixing of outdoor and recirculated airow occurs, if necessary, after the outdoor
airow has been dehumidied. From Fig. 3 it may be deduced that the values for parameter
SHR
cc
of the dehumidication coils employed in the two processes dier signicantly: that of
the cooling coil dedicated to outdoor air ow is much smaller, so that an ad hoc design would
probably be necessary. It should be remembered that to obtain low values of SHR
cc
cooling coils
are needed which may be: fed by refrigerants at low temperature and/or at high velocity,
3
and/or
with a high number of ns,
4
and/or with moderate air speed,
5
and/or with a not too excessive n
density
6
[11]. To increase dehumidication capacity it would be better to reduce the by-pass fac-
tor
7
by increasing the depth of the cooling coil rather than n density.
1.2. Chemical dehumidication
Desiccants are materials with a high anity for water vapour and may be solid or liquid.
Adsorption is when the physical or chemical nature of the desiccant, generally solid, remains un-
3
Typical values for refrigerated water cooling coils are T
in
= 57C, T
out
= 1012C, v = 1.2m/s.
4
As depth increases (in the direction of ow) air moves closer to saturation. Depth increases with the number of
rows (common values of number of rows are between 2 and 8).
5
In the comfort eld typical values are in the range 2.02.5m/s.
6
The density is often indicated as ns per inch (fpi): common values are between 8 and 14 fpi (315551 ns/m). Too
high density can obstruct the condensation: suggested values [11] to maximise the dehumidication are in the range
315236 ns/m.
7
Taking sat as the state of saturated humid air at mean coil temperature, the by-pass factor may be expressed as
follows: F
bp
= (h
out
h
sat
)/(h
in
h
sat
).
dry bulb temperature

2

SHR

3
1
cc
q
cc,T
cc,SEN
q
q
cc,LAT
1
h
h
2
3
h
h
u
m
i
d
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o
Fig. 1. Mechanical dehumidication: cooling and dehumidication.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 5
ARTICLE IN PRESS
coil
Cooling/
dehumidification
coil
Return air
Outside air Supply air
Re-heating
o m A
r -
+
(a) dehumidification downstream of the mixing chamber
Supply air Outside air
Return air
coil
Re-heating
o
r
+
-
A
coil
dehumidification
Cooling/
(b) dehumidification of the outdoor air before the mixing chamber
Fig. 2. Mechanical dehumidication: dierent positions of the cooling coil for an all air system.
r
A

m



o
h
u
m
i
d
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o
dry bulb temperature
Fig. 3. Mechanical dehumidication: cooling and dehumidication in the two cases of Fig. 2 (re-heating coil not
enabled).
6 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
changed in the dehumidication process; absorption conversely is when a change occurs, generally
with liquid substances [12,13].
A common adsorption solid is silica gel, which behaves like a sponge. In fact, its structure is
extremely porous; its internal surface per volume unit is immense, approximately 250m
2
/cm
3
.
Its pores have a diameter of nanometers and their volume accounts for approximately half of
the total volume. Attracting forces between vapour and solid depend on the particular solidva-
pour pair and on physical structure of the solid. An initial layer of adsorbed molecules is formed
and the force of attraction decreases as surface density of adsorbed molecules increases. This proc-
ess grows as the number of layers increases. As with normal liquefaction, thermal energy is re-
leased also for adsorption; the two values are of the same size. The amount adsorbed at
equilibrium conditions may be expressed as mass or (normal) volume of gas per unit of mass
of the solid without gas. Adsorption desiccants are typically chemical compounds, such as syn-
thetic polymers, silica gels, titanium silicates, natural or synthetic zeolites, activated aluminas,
silica +, etc. [9,1418].
Common absorbents are various solutions of water and ethylene glycol, LiCl, LiBr,
CaCl
2
.
In the context under examination regenerative systems are being dealt with, that is those for
which the mechanism of moisture removal is continuous.
Air to be treated before supplying in indoor ambient is called process air. Chemical dehumid-
ication [9,12,19,20] is based on the migration of water vapour from process air towards the sur-
face of the desiccant due to the dierence in partial vapour pressure (the value of p
v
is greater in
humid air). It may be observed that the pressure gradient is orientated in this direction because the
desiccant is dry and cool; should the material become warm and moist the pressure gradient is
inverted and water vapour migrates from the desiccant to humid air. The typical cycle of the des-
iccant is made up by three steps, Fig. 4.
AB. In A the desiccant is cold and dry; removing water from the process air, the surface p
v
grows reaching the p
v
value of the surrounding air; the equality is reached in B state: the migra-
tion of the vapor stops.
BC. The desiccant is removed from the process air, heated and exposed to a dierent air ow
(regeneration air, which is then discharged in atmosphere): the gradient changes its direction
and the migration of the water vapour occurs from the desiccant towards the air current. In
state C the humidity content has the starting value (A), but the p
v
is much greater because
of the high temperature reached by the material.
CA. The material is cooled until the starting temperature. The values of humidity content and
p
v
are restored. The cycle can be repeated.
From the description of the cycle it may be deduced that the cyclic process ABC requires
thermal power: heating between BC (regeneration or reactivation) and cooling between CA.
It can be noted that the typical desiccant cycle made up by three steps, shown in Fig. 4 and pre-
viously described, is currently reported as representative of the phenomenon in literature refer-
ences [9,12], but it could be represented also as made up by four steps, since desorption step
BC can be subdivided, for some applications (see the absorbtion system shown in Fig. 5), in
two separated stages: heating and properly said desorption.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 7
ARTICLE IN PRESS
For the regeneration of liquid absorbents either low pressure vapour or warm liquid water is
used; for solid adsorbents thermal energy is used made available generally by combustion (direct
or indirect gas-red heaters). In both cases, if possible, waste heat may be used (heated water from
solar panels, from condensers of traditional refrigerating machines, from cogenerators, from
under-used heaters, etc.).
With reference to Fig. 5, a typical apparatus for the dehumidication of an air ow based on
absorption is described. The liquid desiccant is distributed on ll material similar to that used in
Dry air
HEAT
EXCHANGER
Process
air
Cooling
fluid
CONDITIONER REGENERATOR
fluid
Heating
Wet air
air
Regeneration
HEAT
EXCHANGER
Fig. 5. Absorption dehumidication system (liquid desiccant).
D
e
s
i
c
c
a
n
t

t
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
A
d
s
o
r
p
t
i
o
n
/ D
e
s
i
c
c
a
n
t

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

v
a
p
o
r

p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
D
e
s
i
c
c
a
n
t

c
o
o
l
i
n
g
Desiccant moisture content
A
A
b
s
o
r
p
t
i
o
n
C
D
e
s
o
r
p
t
i
o
n
B
(
D
e
s
i
c
c
a
n
t
r
e
g
e
n
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
)
Fig. 4. Chemical dehumidication: typical desiccant cycle.
8 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
cooling towers, whose function is to increase the contact surface area where air and desiccant meet
in order to improve thermal and mass transfer. Process air ows countercurrently to liquid des-
iccant. Beside the air conditioning tower, the heat exchanger cools the solution to remove absorp-
tion heat and any other thermal input towards the solution. A second tower is present for
regeneration. As the solution absorbs the vapour it dilutes and thus the p
v
of the water increases.
Fig. 6 [9] shows the equilibrium diagram, at standard atmospheric pressure, for a waterlithium
chloride solution, in a format similar to that of the psychrometric chart. It shows, for each tem-
perature, the drop in equilibrium specic humidity as the concentration rises, and, for each con-
centration value, a rise in equilibrium specic humidity as temperature rises. Hence the necessity
to re-concentrate the solution. This occurs in the regeneration tower: the solution is heated by the
heat exchanger beside the tower in order to increase the p
v
of the water and force the vapour to
migrate from the solution towards an air current, which is then discharged in the atmosphere. A
closed circuit continuously recirculates the solution between the drain pans of the two towers.
When temperature and concentration of the solution are well controlled, process air leaves the
tower in the psychrometric conditions required for it to be supplied into the room. As we shall see,
the same does not apply to the process of adsorption, which requires cooling after dehumidica-
tion. Various absorption dehumidication lines can be obtained, with an outlet air temperature
nearly equal than inlet, unlike mechanical and adsorption dehumidication.
The pressure gradient may be inverted by diluting the solution (so humidication of the air may
be obtained).
Systems of the type described have been used for large size buildings in the tertiary sector [19],
the extra costs of which are reasonably compensated by energy saving. As humidity control in the
building becomes established a signicant growth, also on a lower scale, is expected: smaller units
(some thousands of m
3
/h) have already entered the market.
Also as regards adsorption dehumidication, as mentioned earlier, the desiccant must be peri-
odically regenerated. This technology, long employed in the industrial sector, has now provoked
renewed interest and has been extended towards the non-industrial sector, both because of more
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
Water saturation curve

20% LiCl
30% LiCl
40% LiCl
Dry bulb temperature [C]
E
q
u
i
l
i
b
r
i
u
m

h
u
m
i
d
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o

[
g
/
k
g
]

Fig. 6. Absorption dehumidication: equilibrium chart for a waterlithium chloride solution.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 9
ARTICLE IN PRESS
stringent IAQ
8
requirements, and the gradual reduction of the regeneration temperature required
by new desiccant materials.
The moisture contained in humid air partially condenses in the desiccant: it is adsorbed because
of the vapour partial pressure dierence between process air and desiccant surface. So the process
air temperature increases because of the conversion in sensible heat of both condensation heat and
heat due to the adsorption process. After all, outlet process air specic humidity decreases while
temperature increases, Fig. 7. Before supplying into the room, process air must be cooled, Fig. 7,
by means of one or more of the following components: direct expansion or chilled liquid (gener-
ally water) cooling coil (CC); indirect evaporative cooling (IEC); rotary or static heat recuperator
(HTX).
A rst type of system is the dual desiccant bed adsorption dehumidier, Fig. 8: the air to be
dehumidied passes through a bed of granular desiccant and is dehumidied; as the desiccant
must be periodically regenerated with the introduction of warm air to make the process continu-
ous a second bed is necessary to substitute the rst during regeneration. The functions of the two
desiccant beds are alternated simply by valves, as shown in Fig. 8. The equipment is simple though
rather bulky.
9
Moreover the conditions of the dehumidied air at the outlet are less and less uni-
form as the desiccant approaches saturation point.
These drawbacks have been overcome by a system with solid desiccant inserted in a rotating
exchanger [1922], called desiccant wheel (DW), more common than the previous system, espe-
cially in the non-industrial air-conditioning sector. In Fig. 9 a typical desiccant
10
wheel is shown
[13]. The structure, very similar to that of an enthalpy wheel, is usually realized by wrapping an
element made up of a corrugated lamina and a plane. The lamina is brous and impregnated
11
8
Comparing the outdoor air requirements of the two versions of the ASHRAE Standard (621981 and 622001)
Ventilation for Acceptable IAQ [2,3], it can be observed an increase of 24 times; for example: (units in l/s per person)
from 7.5 to 15 for hotel rooms, from 3.5 to 8 for auditorium, from 3.5 to 10 for meeting rooms, from 2.5 to 10 for
oces.
Fig. 7. Air dehumidication by adsorption and post-cooling.
9
To avoid the pulverisation of the desiccant and a not uniform distribution of the air, the air speed must be
moderate. So, this type of system is not able to handle high ow rates, as usually required in typical HVAC
applications.
10
Typically the thickness varies between 5 and 45cm, the diameter between 10 and 420cm.
11
Stronger the connection between substratum and desiccant, less the discharge of desiccant pieces in process air; so,
the pollution of the process air and the reduction of the wheel performance are avoided.
10 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
with desiccant. Air passes through the channels that are formed between the lamina layers, ar-
ranged parallel to the wheel axis. The device rotates slowly (620rev/h) [23] between the two
air uxes: moisture is removed from process air through the desiccant; after a partial rotation,
the portion of saturated wheel is regenerated by warm, dry air (regeneration air) so it may
Fig. 9. Typical desiccant wheel.
+
Inlet regeneration air
Exit
process air
Heating
coil
Cooling
coil
Packed
tower
regeneration air
Exit
process air
Inlet
Adsorption Desorption
tower
Packed
Fig. 8. Packed tower adsorption system.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 11
ARTICLE IN PRESS
be reused. A xed element with a exible gasket separates the two airows. Occasionally a small
ow (purge) is removed from process air and cools the regenerated desiccant, after which it is
mixed with incoming regeneration air.
2. HVAC dehumidication systems
2.1. HVAC systems with mechanical dehumidication
The importance of the parameter SHR
cc
(2) for the cooling coils can be stressed by considering
the ventilation load:
_
Q
vent
_ m
o
h
o
h
r
: 4
Considering a unitary volumetric airow rate (4) may be taken as
_
Q
vent;u
q
o
h
o
h
r
: 5
Fixing the indoor conditions T
db
= 25C and / = 50%, in Fig. 10, for six European sites and for
two dierent outdoor design conditions, the unitary summer ventilation loads, subdivided into
sensible and latent components, are reported. It may be observed that the latent component is
very often the greater, particularly when peak dew point temperature data (ASHRAE 1% DP-
MCDB) are employed, with values up to 90% of the total load. What this means is that a dehu-
midication coil capable of dealing with such loads would need a particularly low values of
parameter SHR
cc
(2), which seldom occurs.
12
Regarding the CVAAS system it is worth highlighting the problem of ambient moisture control
in partial load conditions. In actual fact HVAC plants are designed to deal with peak loads, while
for most of the working time the loads are smaller.
From the energy balance equation in steady state for a general zone, the followings are
obtained:
_
Q
z;SEN
_ m
a
c
p
T
db;z;r
T
db;z;s
; 6
_
Q
z;LAT
_ m
a
Dh
lv
x
z;r
x
z;s
: 7
As the plant works at a constant air ow rate, a reduction of the sensible load requires a corre-
sponding increase in supply air temperature.
Should the control system be based (DBTCS) on a comparison between dry bulb temperature
of the local thermal sensor and the setpoint, and on the consequent modulation of the power of
the coil (i.e. of the temperature of supply air), as the ambient load diminishes the mean surface
temperature of the coil increases and its dehumidication capacity drops. To understand the size
of this problem Table 1 shows the number of hours in which outdoor temperature [24] is less than
indoor design temperature (T
db,r
= 25C), for three Italian sites, while the opposite occurs with
12
Typical values for refrigerated water cooling coils are greater than 0.75.
12 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
humidity ratio (x
r
= 9.9g
v
/kg
a
). In Rome, for example, on a total of 2928h for the summer sea-
son, this happens for the 60% of the hours.
ASHRAE 1% DB-MCWB design data [9] on outside air (Table 2) show that for Rome the cal-
culation of thermal loads of the building is performed assuming T
db,o
= 30C. Since, at the peak
of dew point temperature (25C), the corresponding dry bulb temperature (MCDB) falls to 27C,
in these conditions a substantial reduction of the sensible thermal load of the building will occur,
while latent load (due mainly to the occupants) remains unchanged. This suggests that supply air
temperature must increase and that factor SHR
z
diminishes. Thus what follows for the DBTCS
system is an increase in ambient relative humidity.
A control technique aimed at overcoming these obstacles is based on re-heat (RHCS). The
cooling coil is designed in such a way as to ensure that the air outow can satisfy simultane-
ously maximum sensible and latent loads in the ambient. As the sensible load diminishes an
ambient temperature sensor progressively activates a heating coil
13
(re-heat), which heats the
air in such a way as to balance this load. The temperature sensor works on the heating coil
alone, while the cooling coil is designed to balance maximum loads and is regulated to balance
latent load.
Naturally this control system is not energetically ecient. With reference to the building-plant
whole, steady state energy balance may be given as
_
Q
cc

_
Q
z;SEN

_
Q
z;LAT

_
Q
hc

_
Q
vent
: 8
Thus energy use related to the re-heating coil weighs heavily not only for the generation of hot
thermal carrier uid, but also for the generation of cold thermal carrier uid. The increase in costs
13
With more than one zone, instead of a single re-heating coil placed in the AHU, the number of coils (placed in the
ducts near the rooms) should correspond to the number of zones.
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1
%
D
B
-
M
C
W
B
1
%

D
P
-
M
C
D
B
1
%
D
B
-
M
C
W
B
1
%

D
P
-
M
C
D
B
1
%
D
B
-
M
C
W
B
1
%

D
P
-
M
C
D
B
1
%
D
B
-
M
C
W
B
1
%

D
P
-
M
C
D
B
1
%
D
B
-
M
C
W
B
1
%

D
P
-
M
C
D
B
1
%
D
B
-
M
C
W
B
1
%

D
P
-
M
C
D
B
U
n
i
t
a
r
y

v
e
n
t
i
l
a
t
i
o
n

l
o
a
d

[
k
W
/
(
m

/
s
)
]
Latent
Sensible
MILAN
GENOA
BARCELONA
PARIS
LONDON
ATHENS

Fig. 10. Unitary summer ventilation loads for six European sites (Milan, Genoa, Barcelona, Paris, London, Athens)
and for two dierent outdoor design conditions.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 13
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Table 1
Number of hours during which T
o
< T
r
and x
o
> x
r
for three Italian sites T
db,r
= 25C; /
r
= 50%; x
r
= 9.9g/kg
Period: 1 June30 September Total hours: 2
0
928
x [g/kg] T
db
[C] 13.5 14.5 15.5 16.5 17.5 18.5 19.5 20.5 21.5 22.5 23.5 N. hours
Site: Crotone
18.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
17.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5
16.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 11 23
15.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 22 24 13 62
14.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 30 30 21 91
13.5 0 0 0 0 0 4 23 36 34 37 24 158
12.5 0 0 0 0 2 45 46 52 49 41 27 262
11.5 0 0 2 10 41 42 54 34 47 40 37 307
10.5 0 2 10 23 26 35 40 41 41 36 42 296
9.5 4 9 12 14 27 16 22 33 30 29 37 233
Total 1
0
439
Percentage on total 49.1%
Site: Rome
18.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
16.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 6 17
15.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 12 9 30
14.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17 26 25 13 83
13.5 0 0 0 0 0 5 32 51 38 21 31 178
12.5 0 0 0 0 16 54 71 75 61 35 33 345
11.5 0 0 1 32 93 94 81 60 43 34 32 470
10.5 0 5 35 75 42 44 47 36 39 28 32 383
9.5 7 32 46 24 31 21 17 16 15 25 26 260
Total 1
0
768
Percentage on total 60.4%
Site: Milan
18.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
16.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 5 9
15.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 10 14 15 43
14.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 31 32 31 12 118
13.5 0 0 0 0 0 12 44 59 52 40 25 232
12.5 0 0 0 0 37 68 76 57 33 33 24 328
11.5 0 0 12 89 102 62 43 47 37 36 21 449
10.5 0 48 83 75 32 40 30 26 21 24 23 402
9.5 86 82 34 17 22 18 13 12 11 6 14 315
Total 1
0
898
Percentage on total 64.8%
14 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Table 2
Summer design conditions of outdoor air for some Italian sites by UNI 10339 and ASHRAE data
UNI 10339 ASHRAE 0.4% ASHRAE 1%
DB-MCWB WB-MCDB DP-MCDB DB-MCWB WB-MCDB DP-MCDB
DB
(C)
/
(%)
WB
(C)
DP
(C)
DB
(C)
MCWB
(C)
WB
(C)
MCDB
(C)
DP
(C)
MCDB
(C)
DB
(C)
MCWB
(C)
WB
(C)
MCDB
(C)
DP
(C)
MCDB
(C)
Genoa 30 60 23.8 21.4 29.8 22.4 24.7 28.1 23.6 27.6 28.8 22.4 24.0 27.3 22.9 26.3
Venice 31 51 23.0 19.7 30.8 23.3 25.1 28.4 24 27.4 29.5 22.6 24.1 27.8 22.9 25.8
Milan
Linate
32 48 23.3 19.6 31.6 22.8 24.2 29.7 23.0 28.2 30.3 22.3 23.5 28.7 22.1 27.0
Milan
Malpensa
30.5 50 22.4 18.9 32.0 23.4 25.1 30.0 23.4 28.6 30.8 23.0 24.1 29.3 22.2 26.3
Turin 30.5 50 22.4 18.9 30.8 22.4 24.0 28.8 22.5 25.6 29.5 21.9 23.1 27.7 21.8 25.2
Ronchi
Legionari
32.7 22.4 24.4 28.6 23.1 26.9 31.1 21.9 23.5 28.4 21.9 25.6
Bologna/
Borgo
33.0 43 23.0 18.8 33.8 23.7 24.9 31.6 23.0 28.2 32.2 22.9 24.1 30.3 22.1 27.0
Pisa 31.5 55 24.2 21.4 31.9 22.4 24.5 28.8 23.1 26.7 30.4 21.8 23.7 28.1 22.2 25.5
Perugia 30.5 40 20.5 15.4 33.2 21.0 22.9 30.4 20.6 26.0 32.0 20.7 22.0 29.1 19.8 24.3
Rome
(Fiumicino)
31.0 55 23.8 20.9 30.8 23.3 26.1 28.6 25.2 28.1 29.8 23.2 25.4 27.9 24.5 26.8
Naples 32.0 45 22.7 18.6 33.2 22.8 26.0 29.5 25.0 28.6 31.9 22.6 25.1 29.1 24.0 26.7
Brindisi 31.5 60 25.1 22.8 32.0 23.0 26.5 29.0 25.9 28.6 30.2 23.5 25.9 28.4 25.0 27.2
Catania 33.5 48 24.5 20.5 34.9 22.1 26.0 29.4 25.1 27.9 33.0 22.6 25.3 29.1 24.1 26.9
Palermo
(P. Raisi)
31.5 60 25.1 22.8 33.2 21.8 26.6 29.5 25.9 29.2 31.1 22.8 26.1 28.9 25.1 27.9
P
.
M
a
z
z
e
i
e
t
a
l
.
/
A
p
p
l
i
e
d
T
h
e
r
m
a
l
E
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
i
n
g
x
x
x
(
2
0
0
4
)
x
x
x

x
x
x
1
5
A
R
T
I
C
L
E
I
N
P
R
E
S
S
does not regard operating costs alone but also investment costs (an increase in power of the refrig-
erating machine, for example). It is worth pursuing energy recovery (thermal energy from conden-
sation, for example) to avoid heating coil energy use.
Modulation of cooling coil power may also be related to a moisture sensor in the ambient: as
long as local / is kept below setpoint value, cooling coil power is controlled by the local thermo-
stat; should / exceed setpoint value, the humidistat takes over and the thermostat, if necessary,
requires re-heat.
It is clear that the best results would be obtained if the control parameter of the cooling coil was
the dew point temperature, rather than relative humidity. The former is actually a measure of
humidity ratio while the latter varies, moisture content being equal, with T
db
. Any T
db
uctuation,
moisture content being equal, may lead to unreliable control actions. Dew point temperature sen-
sors aside, modern automated systems enable the T
dp
calculation to be made from the usual T
db
and / sensors.
Two techniques of energy recovery are worth citing here.
An extremely rational and simple technique involves the use of a regenerative thermal
exchange
14
(recuperator) as shown in Fig. 11. Two gasliquid exchangers transfer heat from
air owing into the dehumidication coil to air owing out. The liquid employed is actually
water, slightly glycolated if necessary, which is pumped around a closed circuit. The energy sav-
ing obtained is clear: the power needed by the cooling coil is less, its dehumidifying capacity
improves, re-heat rarely requires an external energy source. Control may be exerted via the
pump or a three-way valve.
Enthalpy wheel.
15
It is a rotary exchanger (regenerator) normally made up of a cylinder
lled with a desiccant-coated aluminium matrix.
16
Return air ows across half the wheel
and outside air (countercurrent) over the other half. High-speed rotation (7002400rev/h)
[23] causes thermal and mass transfer. In summer, heat and moisture pass from outside
air towards return air; thus the former undergoes initial cooling with dehumidication;
the reverse occurs in winter. If the two ow rates are equal, indicating with o and r
the states of the two currents, outdoor air downstream of the wheel will fall, on the psychr-
ometric chart, within the segment which joins o to r. A wheel has an 80% latent e-
ciency when the variation of humidity ratio of outside air equals 80% of Dx
or
. Similarly
sensible eciency (based on DT
or
), enthalpic or total eciency (based on Dh
or
) are dened.
Regulation is simply obtained varying rotation speed (using a variable speed motor). If the
aluminium matrix is bare, thermal transfer alone occurs and the wheel operates as a sensible
recuperator.
With variable air volume (VAV) systems the comparison between the signal of the local sensor
of T
db
and setpoint modulates airow supplied at constant temperature: as sensible load
14
Currently indicated as run-around-coil.
15
Also called passive desiccant wheel.
16
For more details on the vapour transfer it can be seen the following paragraph on the adsorption
dehumidication.
16 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
diminishes compared with design value the airow supplied also decreases thanks to the action of
the VAV diuser. In addition, the Air Handling Unit (AHU) supply fan must be modulated to
maintain static pressure constant as airow varies.
If, at partial load, the air is supplied at constant dew point temperature, it is evident that the
reduction of airow supplied, latent load being equal, will cause an increase in local humidity ra-
tio (see Eq. (7)). One solution might be to modulate the dew point temperature of the supply air
using a moisture sensor; constant dry bulb temperature of the air in the supply duct may be
achieved with a re-heating coil or a regenerative exchanger.
To oset the inconvenience of a possible reduction in pollutant dilution when airow falls sig-
nicantly, it is possible to combine the system of motorised coupled dampers of the outside air/
recirculating air mixing chamber of the AHU with a CO
2
sensor (as an IAQ indicator). The out-
side air/recirculating air ratio must be increased as supply airow decreases due to the action of
the VAV diusers.
Direct control on ambient T
db
and / is also possible with an AHU to treat outside air alone,
while recirculating air is treated by a simple cooling coil (without dehumidication) [23,2528].
Control of the two devices is independent. The power of the dehumidication coil, which works
on outside air, is controlled by a room humidistat to keep humidity values below setpoint. Cool-
ing coil power, which works on recirculation air, is controlled by a local thermostat to keep tem-
perature values below setpoint.
Referring to the ambient, from the water mass balance in steady state, it follows:
x
s
x
r

_ m
v
_ m
a
; 9
which provides the humidity ratio value of the air to be supplied in order to balance latent load, a
task for only the AHU dedicated to outside air. In normal circumstances (moisture is largely gen-
erated by the occupants alone; conditions to be maintained inside: T
db
= 25C and / = 50%) the
dew point temperature of the supply air is about 12C (x
s
9g
v
/kg
a
).
In a multi-zone area x
s
values would be dierent for each zone:
Outside
33.9 C 27.2 C
Downstream
recovery
coil
tank
Pump
11.7 C 18.3 C
chilled
supply water
CC
-
air
Expansion
Upstream
coil
recovery
chilled
return water
Fig. 11. Mechanical dehumidication: run-around-coil heat recovery system.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 17
ARTICLE IN PRESS
x
s;z1
x
r

_ m
v;z1
_ m
a;z1
; 10
x
s;z2
x
r

_ m
v;z2
_ m
a;z2
; 11
. . .
x
s;zn
x
r

_ m
v;zn
_ m
a;zn
: 12
However, since the AHU treating the outside air is generally one, the value of x
s
at the entrance
to the n zones must be one as well: of the n values obtained for x
s
, the higher value is selected
(x
s,z2
, for example). In this way, setting this x
s
also at the entrance of the other zones, it is nec-
essary that the other ow rates _ m
a
to be supplied increase over and above the value initially esti-
mated on the basis of air exchange needs alone. For example:
_ m
a;z1;new

_ m
v;z1
x
r
x
s;z2
> _ m
az1;old

_ m
v;z1
x
r
x
s;z1
: 13
Thus, selecting maximum humidity ratio for supply air means maximising airow rate in each
zone: if this solution was not adopted, in some zones to balance latent load the supply airow rate
would be less than required for needs of air exchange.
The results of an extensive simulation with an HVAC system based on the employment of an
AHUdedicated to outside air have been presented in [25]. Comparing the three congurations out-
lined in Fig. 12, the third conguration turns out to be more protable, as regards energy use and
power installed. The rst conguration includes: a liquid regenerative exchanger placed near the
cooling coil, a heating coil for heating in winter and co-operating with the exchanger in summer
if necessary, a humidier for winter. In the second conguration, an enthalpy wheel placed upstream
of the cooling coil dehumidies and cools the outside air in summer; in winter it heats and humidies
the outside air, and so the humidier is unnecessary. In the third conguration, the sensible rotary
exchanger takes place of the liquid regenerative exchanger and makes the heating coil unnecessary.
Air-and-water systems use centrally cooled water to feed the terminals, designed to balance sen-
sible load, installed within the building. Sensible load may be removed:
17
(a) cooling and distributing recirculation air by means of fan-coils;
(b) by means of convection and thermal radiation, maintaining at low temperature the oor or
ceiling radiating panels.
The second method is widespread in Europe and is gaining ground in the US [29].
2.2. Hybrid HVAC systems with chemical dehumidication
The diagram of Fig. 9 shows that the humidity of outlet process air is a function of its inlet state
and of regeneration air temperature; its value decreases:
17
Inducers are terminals that, through nozzles supplying primary air at high pressure, drive the recirculating air to
ow through the cooling coil. The mixing air is supplied in ambient. These terminals are practically not more in market.
18 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
when humidity and temperature of entering process air diminish,
when the temperature of regeneration air increases,
when the process air velocity decreases.
CC
100% O.A.
Humidifier HC
-
+
Supply air
Upstream
coil
recovery
Downstream
recovery
coil
Configuration 1: conventional cooling, heating and humidification with run-around heat recovery
-
100% O.A.
+
Pre-heating
+
Enthalpy
wheel
Return air
coil
Supply air
HC CC
Upstream
coil
recovery
coil
recovery
Downstream
Configuration 2: enthalpy wheel heat recovery and run-around re-heat
+
100% O.A.
-
CC
Supply air
Return air
recovery
Sensible heat
Supply fan
Return fan
coil
Pre-heating
Enthalpy
wheel
Configuration 3: two wheels system (enthalpy wheel and sensible one)
Fig. 12. Mechanical dehumidication: dedicated outdoor air handling unit congurations. Conguration 1:
conventional cooling, heating and humidication with run-around heat recovery. Conguration 2: enthalpy wheel
heat recovery and run-around re-heat. Conguration 3: two wheels system (enthalpy wheel and sensible one).
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 19
ARTICLE IN PRESS
In Fig. 13 the performances of a desiccant wheel, for six European sites and for ASHRAE 1%
DP-MCDB outdoor design conditions, are reported. Fig. 13 is based on standard data and on
data related to a particular wheel working at a low regeneration temperature (60C). It has been
found that the level of humidity reached by the second wheel is not suciently low for usual air-
conditioning applications. This could be solved by increasing slightly regeneration temperature or
by pre-cooling the process air.
Fig. 14 shows an interesting use of the desiccant wheel combined with a vapour compression
refrigerating machine: process air is rst cooled and dehumidied as it passes through the evap-
orator (AB), and then dehumidied further through adsorption (BC); regeneration air is heated
by the condenser (DE), and then ows through the wheel (EF). Energy input within the system
is thus only electric. The desiccant wheel must be made of desiccant regenerable at low tempera-
tures, available on the market.
In the eld of the summer air conditioning for non-industrial applications, the chemical dehu-
midication can be applied instead of the traditional mechanical dehumidication;
18
often the
two technologies are integrated (hybrid HVAC systems): the rst to balance the latent load,
the second one to balance the sensible load.
Hybrid HVAC systems with chemical dehumidication distinguish themselves essentially for
the following reasons.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
h
u
m
i
d
i
t
y

r
a
t
i
o

[
g
/
k
g
]
Angelantoni
MILAN GENOA
BARCELONA
PARIS LONDON ATHENS
ASHRAE
in
out

Fig. 13. Typical performances of a desiccant wheel, for six European sites and for ASHRAE 1% DP-MCDB outdoor
design conditions (data obtained from performance charts of Fig. 14, cap. 22, 2004 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC
Systems and equipment [64], and from performance charts kindly provided by Angelantoni Industrie S.p.A. for the
desiccant wheel model RU-060 6/4, for a regeneration temperature of 60C).
18
For Italian climates, in winter season the latent load balancing can be obtained also by supplying outdoor air,
usually characterised by a humidity ratio less than the value required in ambient.
20 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
(a) Traditional refrigeration systems are not suitable to control separately latent and sensible
thermal loads: often, in order to adequately control ambient relative humidity, it is necessary
to cool air up to low temperatures and then to reheat. Consequently COP reduction and high
energy use take place. Handling sensible loads by means of a traditional refrigeration plant
and latent loads by means of desiccant, especially in presence of a low sensible/total load
ratio, can signicantly enhance the system eciency. With this kind of hybrid system re-heat-
ing is not necessary. This advantage is particularly evident in partial-load conditions [22].
(b) In operating conditions, hybrid systems based on chemical dehumidication permit to control
separately both temperature and humidity (the DW is connected to a humidity sensor, the CC
to a temperature sensor). On the contrary, in traditional cooling systems only temperature is
generally directly controlled (DBTCS), while humidity can vary.
(c) Systems based on chemical dehumidication allow to reduce humidity even when required
dew point temperature is very low, so allowing an easier balance of high latent loads. On
the contrary, conventional systems can dehumidify air stream generally only for required
dew point temperatures higher than 4C.
(d) Hybrid systems assure a better thermal comfort, since humidity can be accurately controlled,
and also a better air quality [3033]. In fact, the absence of condensed water strongly reduces
the presence of microorganisms as bacteria, viruses and fungi. So these systems are particu-
larly recommended in application in which severe hygienic conditions must be maintained
(medical facilities and laboratories).
(e) Since in hybrid systems the CC task is only sensible cooling of the air stream, the cooling
uid temperature can be higher (for example, the typical 57C of the chilled water can
be changed up to 14C and over), with a consequent increase of the refrigerating machine
COP.
Fig. 14. Example of utilization of a desiccant wheel inserted in a cooling cycle (Econosorbfor kind permission of
Angelantoni Industrie S.p.A.).
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 21
ARTICLE IN PRESS
(f) Hybrid systems allow to reduce the vapour compression refrigerating machine power because
latent load is already balanced by the desiccant system. The smaller size allows to reduce
energy use, required electric power and starting investment capital.
(g) The technology based on chemical dehumidication, reducing electric power and energy
requirements and the CFC and HCFC refrigerant uids use, is characterised by a low envi-
ronmental impact.
(h) The chemical dehumidication can be applied also to existing traditional HVAC systems
(retrotting) which are not able to balance latent load, for example when outdoor air per-
centage is increased in order to conform the plant to the present standards.
(i) Installing cost of an hybrid systemwith chemical dehumidication is generally higher than a tra-
ditional system, but it can be balanced, in some applications, by lower operating costs [3440].
(j) It is possible to use available thermal energy [41,42] to regenerate the desiccant.
The main disadvantages connected to hybrid HVAC systems with chemical dehumidication
are the following:
it is possible that, in presence of solid adsorbent materials, solid particles could be dragged by
the air stream, but such inconvenience is decreasing while technology improves;
thermal energy necessary to the regeneration process is a considerable amount and it increases
with the dehumidication requirements and with the regeneration temperature. Only the last
generation of adsorption desiccants allows to obtain regeneration temperatures between
40C and 80C, so it is possible to satisfy the reactivation needs with low temperature thermal
recoveries. However, the payback not always attains acceptable values [43];
the scarce familiarity with such technology and the lack of information about performances
and cost/benet ratio hamper the spreading of hybrid desiccant systems [44], even if today
chemical dehumidication technology can compete with conventional systems also for residen-
tial and commercial applications.
In the technical literature various hybrid system with desiccant wheel congurations are pro-
posed [12,13,20,30,35,37,39,42,43,4562].
A detailed description and some possible classications of these congurations are reported in a
previous authors paper [63]. For example, in Fig. 15 a possible system conguration (with partial
recirculation) is shown. It can be observed the presence of an enthalpic economizer (linked to
three coupled dampers) that varies the outdoor air stream percentage: when outdoor air condi-
tions allow it, partial recirculation mode gives the place to the temporary more convenient all-
external air mode. In Fig. 16, considering the hybrid system of Fig. 15, qualitative treatments
of process and regeneration air on the psychrometric chart are reported for a typical Italian site
in summer design conditions.
Various control schemes may be implemented for systems based on the desiccant wheel, for
example (a) coupled dampers to by-pass the wheelprocess air sideand (b) modulation of
the power delivered by the regenerator [62]. The signal from the humidity sensor, placed in the
ambient or, even better, in the return air duct, is sent to the controller (possibly a PID controller);
if necessary, the controller output goes to the actuator of a by-pass system of the desiccant wheel
with opposed blade coupled dampers. One is a front damper, the other by-pass. As / increases
22 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
compared with setpoint, the controller increases the degree of aperture of the front damper and
reduces that of the by-pass damper. As / decreases compared with setpoint, the opposite happens:
the front damper closes and the by-pass damper opens. Should / continue to decrease with the
front damper closed it may be necessary to intervene on the dehumidication capacity of the
wheel (varying its angular velocity, if, for example, a frequency control for the wheels electric
motor is present, or by regulating the on/o on the regenerator and the wheel).
The output of the controller may be sent (case b) to a three-way servo valve placed on the
regeneration heating coil, instead of to the by-pass system actuator described earlier, so as to
modulate regeneration power and hence the dehumidication capacity of the wheel as / varies
in the ambient.
Less eective control of / may be exerted by acting on the regeneration air side. A temperature
sensor is placed in the regeneration airowdownstreamof the wheel: in response to this signal a con-
troller modulates the regenerator. If the temperature signal falls belowsetpoint, the controller opens
space
Return from
+
+
H C

Desiccant
wheel Outdoor air
(ventilation air)
Outdoor air
(economizer)



o hx
Sensible heat


dw
recovery


m

C C
-

-
To


ro
cooler
Evaporative

heater
Regeneration

rg

xl
outdoors
Relief air to

r


space

Humidifier


s
r
Conditioned
Supply fan
Return fan

outdoors
Fig. 15. Partial recirculation desiccant hybrid system with or without evaporative cooler.
Fig. 16. Psychrometric chart related to the system of Fig. 15 (without evaporative cooler).
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 23
ARTICLE IN PRESS
the damper which regulates regeneration airow rate; the opposite occurs if the temperature signal
exceeds setpoint. Alternatively, the controller may act on the three-way valve of the regeneration
heating coil in such a way as to modulate regeneration power on the basis of the temperature signal.
3. Some applications
The applications of HVAC systems based on mechanical and chemical dehumidication are
several: as regards the second one, the adsorption technique will be specically analysed, because
it is the most developed; specic literature [19,20,64] can be examined for the applications based
on absorption.
An interesting application of HVAC systems with mechanical and adsorption dehumidication
regards retail store [63] and, above all, supermarkets [19,20,34,35,65,66], in which the air condi-
tioning is necessary both for the comfort of the occupants and for the correct operating of the
open refrigerators, which operate well only if the ambient humidity is maintained low.
Moreover, for the supermarkets, the ratio between the sensible and latent components of the
ambient thermal load is in favour of the latent one. In fact, the presence of the open refrigerators
reduces much more the sensible load than the latent one [67]. So, it is clear that if the dehumid-
ication is mechanical, it is necessary the oversizing of the cooling coil, and also the successive
re-heating of the handled air, with remarkable energy use. Besides, in the stricter conditions of
partial load, the traditional system can lose the moisture control in ambient, with important neg-
ative consequences [19,6871]: (a) the load of the open refrigerators increases, and so their oper-
ating costs; (b) because of the greater frost formation, longer defrost periods are required, the
shelf-life of the exposed goods shortens, their aspect gets worse, the paper containers deteriorate
rendering illegible the labels; (c) with the increasing of the dew point temperature of the air, sur-
face condensation problems appear on the walls, on the structures, on the goods [71,72].
A possible solution consists in resorting to hybrid HVAC systems with dehumidication by des-
iccant wheel, that oers numerous advantages. These are the ones of the chemical dehumidica-
tion (Section 2.2) and furthermore:
(a) a consisting energy saving can be obtained: for this aim the desiccant dehumidication sys-
tem, that balances the latent load, can usefully employ the condensation heat of the vapour
compression chiller in order to pre-heat the regeneration air [73], so reducing the thermal
power demand;
(b) the anti-sweat heaters systems can be eliminated or reduced.
In [66] an application of traditional system and desiccant wheel hybrid system, both of the roof-
top type, for a supermarket of approximately 3700m
2
sited in Rome,
19
is reported: the obtainable
savings with the hybrid systems with respect to the traditional ones have been estimated,
20
in
terms of operating costs, considering that the most part of these is connected to the open refrig-
erators and that the proper operation of the HVAC system indirectly induces remarkable savings
19
Italian electric energy and gas fares have been considered.
20
By means of the program DesiCalc
TM
[50].
24 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
also on the refrigeration system. The simple payback time, connected to the extra cost of the hy-
brid system, resulted of 23 years. Moreover, it has been found that relative humidity in ambient
is maintained to lower levels, therefore the frost formation is reduced and the problems related to
the shelf-life are exceeded, as well as those connected to the aspect and the integrity of the exposed
goods. Finally, a reduction of approximately 30% of the air ow rate supplied to the rooms has
been noticed, with consequent reduction of system and operating costs and of the space required
by the ducts. The savings on the operating costs increase signicantly if it is imposed that both the
systems guarantee in ambient the same low relative humidity values.
In [63] an application of traditional system and desiccant wheel hybrid system, for a theatre of
1200m
2
sited in Rome
19
, is reported: dierent congurations (among which also that reported in
Fig. 15) of traditional and hybrid systems, both centralized and of the roof-top type, have been
considered. The obtainable savings
20
with the hybrid systems with respect to the traditional ones,
in terms of operating costs, resulted between 23% and 38%, however always greater than 35% for
all the roof-top conguration systems. The savings of primary energy are very similar to those rel-
ative to the operating costs. In the various cases, the reduction of the power electric demand re-
sulted remarkable, up to approximately 4450%. It also resulted that the hybrid systems, unlike
the traditional ones, perfectly control in every condition the relative humidity in ambient (in fact,
the percentage of hours, with respect to total, in which the ambient relative humidity is greater than
60%, is around 20% for the traditional systems and is instead less than 0.6%for the desiccant wheel
systems). Finally, it has been veried that the savings on the operating costs obtainable with the
hybrid systems increase (up to a maximum of approximately 45%) with the increasing of the level
of occupation and the outdoor air ow rate per person. This tendency conrms that the HVAC
systems with dehumidication by desiccant wheel are particularly suitable to balance high latent
loads related to the increase of the required outside air ow rate and of the level of occupation.
Besides, the analysis reported in [63] also shows a great variation of the savings depending on
the conguration of hybrid system considered; therefore it is recommended to examine, case for
case, which of the congurations can be the most suitable to maximize the obtainable savings.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Process air flow rate [10
3
m
3
/h]
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

s
e
l
l
i
n
g

p
r
i
c
e

[


/
(
m
3
/
h
)
]
Two wheels systems
Industrial dehumidifiers
( = 8 g/kg)
Commercial dehumidifiers
( = 6 g/kg)
Target price for commercial dehumidifiers
Fig. 17. Range of the normalized current selling prices for industrial and commercial dehumidiers with solid desiccant
and heat recovery.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 25
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Finally, in Fig. 17, data recently appeared in literature [74] about the selling prices of dehumid-
iers with desiccant wheel and heat recovery wheel, designed for industrial and commercial elds,
are reported.
4. Conclusions
The HVAC systems design requires more and more attention, above all considering the recent
ventilation standards, in order to reach and maintain in ambient the optimal level of humidity,
particularly in partial load conditions.
In the mechanical dehumidication eld, the direct control of ambient T
db
and / can be prop-
erly obtained by means of an air handling unit (AHU) which treats outside air alone, while recir-
culating air is treated by a simple cooling coil; control of the two equipments is independent.
Among the possible AHU congurations, that one with two wheels, an enthalpy wheel and a sen-
sible one, respectively upstream and downstream of the cooling coil, turns out to be more conven-
ient as regards energy use and power installed.
In the chemical dehumidication eld, absorption systems have been used successfully for large
size buildings in the tertiary sector; as humidity control in the buildings becomes established, their
signicant growth, also on a lower scale, is expected. Controlling opportunely temperature and
concentration of the solution dierent dehumidication lines can be obtained, with an outlet
air temperature nearly equal to inlet, unlike mechanical and adsorption dehumidication; so, trea-
ted process air can have psychrometric conditions required for it to be supplied into the room
without re-heating or post-cooling.
Adsorption dehumidication systems, long employed in the industrial sector, has now pro-
voked renewed interest and has been extended towards the non-industrial sector, both because
of more stringent IAQ requirements, and the gradual reduction of the regeneration temperature
required by new materials.
In the eld of the summer air conditioning for non-industrial applications, the adsorption dehu-
midication is alternative to the traditional mechanical dehumidication; often the two technol-
ogies are integrated (hybrid HVAC systems): the rst to balance the latent load, the latter to
balance the sensible one.
Hybrid HVAC systems with adsorption dehumidication allow a better moisture control and
oer numerous other advantages. However it has to be pointed out that: (a) the payback not always
attains acceptable values; (b) the scarce familiarity with such technology and the lack of informa-
tion about performances and cost/benet ratio hamper the spreading of hybrid desiccant systems.
Among the various possible applications of hybrid HVAC system with desiccant wheel, a
supermarket and theatre have been considered.
Comparing a traditional system and a hybrid system with desiccant wheel, both of the roof-top
type, for a supermarket of approximately 3700m
2
sited in Rome, resulted: (a) a simple payback
time of 23years; (b) relative humidity in ambient is maintained to lower levels, so the frost for-
mation is reduced and the problems connected to the shelf-life, as well as to the aspect and the
integrity of the exposed goods, are exceeded; (c) a reduction of approximately 30% of the supply
air ow rate, with consequent reduction of system and operating costs and of the space required
by the ducts.
26 P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx
ARTICLE IN PRESS
The same comparison, for a theatre of 1200m
2
sited in Rome, has provided the following re-
sults: (a) the obtainable savings, in terms of operating costs, resulted between 23% and 38%;
(b) the reduction of the power electric demand is meaningful, up to approximately 4450%; (c)
the hybrid system, unlike the traditional one, perfectly controls in every condition the relative
humidity in ambient; (d) the savings on the operating costs obtainable with the hybrid systems
increase (up to a maximum of approximately 45%) with the increasing of the level of occupation
and the outdoor air ow rate to be assured for person.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Mr. Malaterra of Angelantoni S.p.A. for his detailed informa-
tion about the desiccant wheel.
Appendix A
In summer the humidity ratio of outside air is normally higher than the indoor humidity ratio:
and thus the need to dehumidify. If, for example, the indoor comfort conditions are T
db
= 25C
and / = 50%, (i.e. x
r
= 10g
v
/kg
a
) and the outdoor air design conditions are T
db
= 32C and /
= 55%, (i.e. x
o
= 16.5g
v
/kg
a
), the humidity ratio of the supply air must be:
x
s
< x
r
10 g
v
=kg
a
< x
o
16:5 g
v
=kg
a
and the dehumidication system must be able to reduce the x = 16.5g
v
/kg
a
to x
s
. In steady state,
from the mass balance for water, referred to a conditioned ambient with N occupants,
21
it is
obtained:
x
s
x
r

N _ m
vu
N _ m
au
x
r

_ m
vu
q
a

_
V
au
: A:1
The humidity ratio of the airow to be supplied must be equal to indoor airow humidity ratio
minus the ratio between unitary mass ow rates (referred to each occupant) of water vapour
and air. Referring to the case under examination, and assuming the following values as indicative
[1]:
_ m
vu
60g=h q
a
1:17kg=m
3
_
V
au
10dm
3
=s
it follows that:
x
s
10 1:4g
v
=kg
a
8:6g
v
=kg
a
! T
dp;s
11:8

C:
So, the dehumidication capacity, in terms of humidity ratio variation, must be
Dx 16:5 8:6 7:9g
v
=kg
a
:
21
For simplicity it is assumed that vapour in the ambient is generated by the occupants alone.
P. Mazzei et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering xxx (2004) xxxxxx 27
ARTICLE IN PRESS
It can be noted that only the 18% (1.4/7.9) of Dx is due to the indoor load, while 82% is due to
the outdoor air.
The dehumidication capacity (DC) usually expresses the water mass ow rate removed from
the handled air ow [75]. In steady state, from the water mass balance referred to the dehumid-
ier, one can obtain:
DC _ m
w
_ m
a
Dx
DE
q
a
_
V
a
Dx
DE
: A:2
To express, as usual, DC in [kg/h] units, in Eq. (A.2) the following units are used: q
a
[kg/m
3
],
_
V
a
[m
3
/h], x [kg
v
/kg
a
]. It can be observed that the unitary capacity is equal to the humidity ratio
variation:
DC
u

_ m
w
_ m
a
Dx
DE
: A:3
Many building and furniture materials are known to be hygroscopic, thus the way in which air
is supplied may give rise to condensation and mould growth. It would be advisable to mix treated
air with ambient air in order to increase temperature, thus preventing extremely cold air from
coming into contact with surfaces, so avoiding condensation.
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