2017 ASHRAE Annual Conference

This paper describes experimental results obtained from running a household dehumidifier overnight and comparing the temperature and humidity changes before and after turning on the dehumidifier, and comparing these changes to the amount of energy used to run the dehumidifier. This work is being performed in response to sustainability goals proposed by the United Nations call for “off-the-shelf” sustainable technologies in third world nations. The objective is to test the energy-saving qualities of dehumidifiers as a method of home heating. The data reduction of the household humidifier first calculates the amount of energy in the form of heat that is generated by the dehumidifier by comparing the change in temperature, time, kWh, and humidity, and applying these changes to the equation for the change in enthalpy in atmospheric air.

This paper presents a new, interior-space, environmental conditioning strategy, referred to as spatially adaptive heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), where supply air locations within a room are repositioned in response to changing thermal loads or other room conditions. In order to quantitatively examine the technical merits of this concept, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a typical office was created using SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation software and benchmarked using full-scale, experimental, velocity and temperature data from the literature. In light of promising results, a one-fifth scale model office was constructed to examine additional scenarios not covered experimentally in the literature and to validate computer simulations of these scenarios. Initial results from the scale model tests are described, and preliminary engineering concepts for achieving supply register relocation are presented. In addition, the opportunities, challenges, limitations, and potential for energy savings associated with this new strategy are discussed.

Radiant systems are increasingly being used for heating and cooling spaces due to its benefits like better energy efficiency, improved thermal comfort and IAQ. In addition, the radiant systems reduce the ductwork and are aesthetically pleasing. However, the effectiveness of radiant systems for optimal design need detailed study of impact of several parameters. In this paper, detailed CFD simulation of a typical room with radiant panel for cooling has been performed. Typical heat loads from human, lights and computer are considered in the model. Different scenarios of return diffuser location, on floor and on ceiling, are considered. Impact of radiation and buoyancy are modeled in the simulation and typical thermal boundaries are applied for walls, roof and floor. The detailed temperature and flow distribution obtained from simulation are used to evaluate and optimize the cooling system, supply flow requirements and diffuser locations.