Performance investigation of a hybrid ground-assisted desiccant cooling system

• Published in: Energy conversion and management Vol. 265; p. 115765
• Main Authors: Liang, Jyun-De, Kao, Chia-Lin, Tsai, Lu-Kuan, Chiang, Yuan-Ching, Tsai, Hsieh-Chen, Chen, Sih-Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Compression; Cooling; Cooling systems; Dehumidification; Desiccant cooling system; Desiccants; Energy saving; Geothermal energy; Groundwater; Heat exchangers; Heat pumps; Hybrid systems; Power consumption; Precooling; Shallow geothermal energy; Subtropical monsoon climate; Ventilation; Shallow geothermal energy; Subtropical monsoon climate; Energy saving; Desiccant cooling system
• ISSN: 0196-8904; 1879-2227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2022.115765

[Display omitted] •Shallow geothermal groundwater benefits dehumidification performance.•Precooling air accounts for 33–73% of total cooling capacity.•Control strategy contains free ventilation, cooling, and desiccant cooling modes.•The HGDC system in the subtropical monsoon climate has a high COP of 4.10.•Energy saving of summer period up to 31.7% compared to a vapor compression system. This study proposes a novel hybrid ground-assisted desiccant cooling (HGDC) system that integrates a heat pump and shallow geothermal energy. This HGDC system can be used as an efficient alternative for handling the ventilation load in the subtropical monsoon climate. Under the outdoor air conditions of 33.3℃ and 24.9 g kg−1, the system could provide supply air conditions of 23.8℃ and 13.8 g kg−1, and the total coefficient of performance was 4.10. The energy analysis showed that precooling air by shallow geothermal groundwater is helpful for dehumidification, and it accounted for 33–73% of the total cooling capacity. Moreover, this HGDC system also built the control strategy based on outdoor conditions, which contains free ventilation, cooling and desiccant cooling modes. Compared to the conventional vapor compression system, this HGDC system can save 7.7–31.7% on total power consumption of summer period.