Performance assessment of a desiccant air-conditioning system combined with dew-point indirect evaporative cooler and PV/T

• Published in: Solar energy 2022-01, Vol.231, p.566-577
• Main Authors: Olmuş, Umutcan, Güzelel, Yunus Emre, Pınar, Engin, Özbek, Arif, Büyükalaca, Orhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air conditioning; Air temperature; Coolers; Desiccant air-conditioning; Desiccants; Dew; Energy consumption; Evaporative cooling; Exhaust systems; Heating; Maisotsenko cycle; Mixing ratio; Performance assessment; Performance evaluation; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaics; PV/T; Regeneration; Simulation; Solar air-conditioning; Solar collectors; Solar energy; Thermal energy; Warm air
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2021.12.004

•A new desiccant air-conditioning system configuration with PV/T was proposed.•Effect of building set temperature and exhaust air mixing ratio was investigated.•Daily COP and solar fraction were found to be 0.34 and 69%, respectively.•Total daily PE and SPE were found to be 165.31 kWh and 0.23, respectively.•The proposed system can be considered as an alternative to conventional AC systems. In this study, a new solid desiccant air-conditioning system configuration integrated with direct and dew-point indirect evaporative coolers and water-cooled photovoltaic-thermal solar collectors (PV/T) is proposed and simulated for a building located in Adana, a humid and hot city on Mediterranean coast of Turkey. New multiple linear regression equations are developed for the performance of desiccant wheel and dew-point indirect evaporative cooler, which are the two crucial components of the air-conditioning system and used in hourly simulations. Building set temperature, exhaust air mixing ratio, suitable warm air source for preheating regeneration air and optimum connection strategy of PV/T collectors to each other are examined in detail. Hourly and daily thermal coefficient of performance (COPth), solar fraction, primary energy consumption and specific primary energy consumption are calculated to evaluate the energetic performance of the system. COPth of the system ranges from 0.28 to 0.40 during the day, with a daily COPth of 0.34. 69% of the thermal energy required to regenerate desiccant wheel can be generated by the PV/T water collectors.