PV/Thermal Desiccant Dehumidification Demonstration at the Orange County Convention Center

One of the four 10 kW systems on the South Hall of Orange County Convention Center in Orlando is a combined PV/thermal (PV/T) system where ambient air is drawn under the PV modules – improving their efficiency – and then ducted into a South Hall mechanical penthouse to regenerate a desiccant for dehumidification of a separate outside air supply to the building. The combined system was modeled by a graduate student for various absorber, regenerator, desiccant tank, and PV/T sizes to determine appropriate component sizing to meet a given ventilation load in seven locations across the US.