National conference on mechanical

engineering and applications

Thermal
ENERGY CONSERVATION IN AIR CONDITIONERS BY
SING RETRO!ITTED DE"#IDI!YING "EAT $I$ES
Authors : T.Arun Kumar, A.Balakumaran
Department : ME CAD/CAM
Year : First Year
E-mail ID : [email protected]
College : Kumaraguru College o Technolog!
ABSTRACT
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National conference on mechanical
engineering and applications
Thermal
Energy
conservation
becomes most
important thing in
the world. Use of air
conditioner increases
day by day by the
people. We know
that air conditioner
consumes more
power. One efcient
way to reduce power
consumption in air
conditioner is by
dehumidifying heat
pipes. Air conditioner
with heat pipes can
eliminate the need
for reheat or
desiccant system
and increase the
dehumidifying
capacity of an air
conditioner by as
much as 9!. "his
technology uses
about #$! less
energy than the
electric reheat
system and about
%#! less than other
types of reheat. "his
paper deals about
how the heat pipe
can be used in a air
conditioner. "he
incoming air is pre
cooled to a lower
temperature than the
inlet. "hen the air
cooled to a lower
temperature by
passing through the
cooling coil. "he air is
then reheated
using heat pipe
which do not re&uire
power. "his paper
also contains the
economic analysis of
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National conference on mechanical
engineering and applications
Thermal
air conditioner
system with heat
pipe.
INTRODCTION
'uilding
moisture is usually
controlled by air
conditioning (A)*+
but some installed
systems cannot
control the e,treme
moisture load. One
efcient approach to
removing this e,cess
moisture is the heat
pipe. A heat pipe can
greatly increase the
moisture removal
ability of an A)
system and save
energy at the same
time. Another
advantage is that
heat pipes have no
moving parts and are
essentially
maintenance free. An
A) system that
doesn-t control
humidity can induce
a variety of health
and comfort
problems
A building-s air
conditioning system
is responsible for
removing
.oisture from
the air in order to
provide for both
human comfort and
mold/and/mildew
control. 0nside the air
conditioner+ warm
moist air is blown
through a cooling
coil. 0n the coil+ the
air is cooled below its
dew point
temperature.
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National conference on mechanical
engineering and applications
Thermal
"here is an
additional bene1t to
heat/pipe moisture/
removal systems. 0t
is possible to save
energy and money
with such a system.
2ere-s why3 4or
humans to remain
comfortable+ both
temperature and
humidity must be at
tolerable levels.
5eople cool
themselves by
evaporating moisture
from their skin. 0f the
air has too much
moisture in it+
evaporation is
limited and not
enough cooling
occurs. 0f the air is
dry+ like the Ari6ona
desert at $74 and
8 percent rh+ a
person can still be
comfortable in
e,treme heat.
%hat is a "eat
$ipe&
A heat pipe is a
simple device that
can &uickly transfer
heat from one point
to another. "hey are
often referred to as
the
9superconductors9 of
heat as they possess
an e,tra ordinary
heat transfer
capacity : rate with
almost no heat loss.
"he idea of
heat pipes was 1rst
suggested by
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National conference on mechanical
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Thermal
;.<.=augler in 9>%.
2owever+ it was not
until 9?%+ when
=...=rover invented
it that its remarkable
properties were
appreciated :
serious development
began.
The three 'asic
components of a
heat pipe are
. the
container
%. the
working
@uid
8. the wick
or
capillary
structure
4irst+ the
container is a sealed+
hollow tube+ which
can isolate the
working @uid from
the outside
environment and can
maintain the
pressure diAerential
across its walls+ and
enable transfer of
heat to take place
from and into the
working @uid.
0nside walls
of the container are
lined with a porous
structure+ which is
called capillary
structure or wick.
"he prime purpose of
the wick is to
generate capillary
pressure to transport
the working @uid
from the condenser
to the evaporator.
4inally+ the
working @uid is
contained in wick
structured container.
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National conference on mechanical
engineering and applications
Thermal
"he 1rst
consideration of
choosing a suitable
working @uid is the
operating vapour
temperature range.
.ost pipes use water
and methanolBalcohol
as working @uid.
"o( do "eat $ipes
Operate&
One end of
the heat pipe
attached to the heat
source. As the heat
rising to the desired
operating
temperature+ the
tube boils the
working @uid and
turns it into a vapor.
As the evaporating
@uid 1lls the hollow
center of the wick+ it
spreads throughout
the heat pipe toward
to the other cold end.
)ondensation of the
vapor occurs
wherever the
temperature is even
slightly below that of
the evaporation area.
As it condenses+ the
vapor gives up the
heat it ac&uired
during evaporation
and the condensed
working @uid is then
sucked back to the
evaporating section
along the wick
structure. "his
thermodynamic cycle
continues and helps
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National conference on mechanical
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Thermal
maintain constant
temperatures.
Attaching a
heat sink to a portion
of the heat pipe
makes condensation
take place at this
point of heat loss and
establishes a vapor
@ow pattern.
)apillary action
within the wick
returns the
condensate to the
evaporator (heat
source* and
completes the
operating cycle.
NEED !OR "EAT
$I$E IN AC
4or low
humidity level
4or humidity
control
4or air
reheated after
cooling in
traditional
2CA) system
4or large
&uantities of
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National conference on mechanical
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Thermal
ventilation air
needed
HEAT PIPE IN AC
A
dehumidifying heat
pipe resembles two
heat e,changers+
located on either
side of the air
conditioner-s
evaporator coil.
<everal tubes
connect the two
sections. A
refrigerant (usually
an 2)4)* inside the
tubes pre/cools the
incoming supply air
by absorbing the
heat from it. "his
causes the
refrigerant in the
tube to evaporate.
"he air conditioner
evaporator takes the
pre/cooled cools it
further+ e,tracting up
to 9! more water
vapor than a
conventional
evaporator would.
After the refrigerant
in the tubes changes
into a vapor+ it @ows
to the condensing
section at the other
end of the system.
"here+ it releases its
heat into the air
stream and returns
to its li&uid state
again. 0t then @ows
by gravity to the
evaporator end of
the pipe to begin the
cycle again.
"he
temperature graph
shows how the heat/
pipe 1tted cooling
coil compares with a
conventional cooling
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National conference on mechanical
engineering and applications
Thermal
coil. )ompared to the
conventional coil+ the
air entering the heat/
pipe 1tted coil is now
at a lower
temperature and
therefore closer to its
dew point. 0n both
the heat/pipe 1tted
and conventional
coil+ the temperature
drop across the coil
is nearly the same.
"hat means that the
heat/pipe 1tted coil
will chill the air to a
lower temperature
than the
conventional coil.
<ince the air is
cooled further below
its initial dew point+
the heat/pipe 1tted
coil removes more
moisture from the
air.
When the air
leaves the heat/pipe
1tted cooling coil+ it
is too cold. 2owever+
as it passes over the
other (condensing*
end of the heat pipe
the refrigerant vapor
in the heat pipe
transfers heat into
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National conference on mechanical
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Thermal
the cold air and
warms the air to a
tolerable
temperature.
"he condensed
refrigerant is
returned to the
boiling end of the
heat pipe. "he air is
now conditioned by
the system to be at
the right
temperature and
humidity to meet a
building-s moisture
load.

"he overall eAect
of this process+
theoretically+ is to
almost double the
moisture removal
capacity of the
cooling coil (at the
same indoor
temperature and
humidity* while
reducing total
cooling capacity by
only a few percent.
'ecause total air
conditioning system
capacity is not
signi1cantly aAected+
heat pipes are an
attractive retro1t
solution for a
humidity problem.
ECONO#IC
ANA)YSIS*
ASS#$TION*

OD)/// 8#7 D'"+
?#! ;2

0D)/// >>7 D'"+
?$! ;2
h /// 9> kEBkg
h% /// >> kEBkg
h8 /// #8 kEBkg
h> /// 9kEBkig
h# /// 8? kEBkg
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National conference on mechanical
engineering and applications
Thermal
)apacity of cooling
coil F .a(h/
h%*G?$B>$$$

F ?$"r
)apacity of heating
coil F .a (h8/h%*

F %H$.%?(#8/>>*

F >%.$>IW

F %"r
%IT" "EAT $I$ES*
)apacity of cooling
coil F ?$ /
(%H$.%?(9>/
H#*G?$*B>$$$

F ?$ J K

F#8 "r
)apacity of heating
coil F % J K

F # "r

"hus with the use of
heat pipes we were
able to reduce the
cooling : heating coil
capacity by > "r.


CO##ERCIA)
A$$)ICATION*
"he
dehumidifying heat
pipe is used mostly
in commercial and
industrial
applications. "o test
the eAectiveness of
heat pipes+ the
4lorida <olar Energy
)enter installed one
of these systems in a
>#+$$$ s&uare foot
(>+H$.# s&uare
meters* warehouse
belonging to a large
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National conference on mechanical
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Thermal
candy manufacturer
in Albany+ =eorgia.
2umidity in the
facility had to be
kept below >$! to
properly store large
&uantities of
)hristmas candy.
'efore the addition
of the dehumidifying
heat pipe+ an
oversi6ed air
conditioner e&uipped
with electric
resistance re/heating
coils was used to
ade&uately
dehumidify the
warehouse. "he
system-s operating
cost was L>$+$$$
per year. "he study
found that the
dehumidifying heat
pipes+ along with
other modi1cations
to the cooling
system+ reduced the
candy factory-s air
conditioning bill by
?$!+ and paid for
itself in less than a
year.
CONC)SION*
"hus air
conditioners can be
retro1tted with
dehumidifying heat
pipes. "hey can also
be built into new
heat pump or air/
conditioner heat
e,changer coils. 2eat
pipes save electricity
in another way as
well. "hey allow the
cooling system to be
reduced in si6e. "hey
can also be used to
help domestic hot
water. "o do so+ a
heat e,changer
transfers the heat
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Thermal
e,tracted by the
pipes to a water
tank.
RE!ERENCES*
* )arrier+ Willis 2.+
;ealto E. )herneand
Walter A. =rant.
M.odern Air )ondi/
tioning+ 2eating+ and
Centilating.N 9>$.
5itman 5ublishing
)orp. Oew Pork.
%* ;amsey+ .elvin A.
M"ested <olutionsto
Design 5roblems in
Air )onditioning and
;efrigeration.N 9??.
0ndustrial 5ress 0nc.
Oew Pork.
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