Dew Point Evaporative Comfort Cooling

Abstract

Air-conditioning (AC) is the single largest contributor to peak demand on United States (U.S.) electricity grids and is the primary cause of grid failures and blackouts (Purdum, 2000. Power generators and refrigeration-based AC units are least efficient at high ambient temperatures, when cooling demand is highest. AC accounts for approximately 15% of all source energy used for electricity production in the U.S. alone (nearly 4 quadrillion British thermal units [Btu]), which results in the release of about 343 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year (U.S. Department of Energy [DOE], 2011). Evaporative ACs can mitigate the environmental impacts and help meet Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) 2007 and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) energy policy goals by eliminating energy waste and reducing electricity demand. Researchers have developed a new multi-staged indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) technology known as the Coolerado Cooler. This technology uses a thermodynamic cycle referred to as the Maisotsenko Cycle (or M-Cycle). The product works by cooling both the primary (or product) air and the secondary (or working) air in a 20-stage process. Each stage contributes to cooling by combining multiple direct stages with a single indirect stage. The cumulative result is a lower supply air temperature than is possible with conventional evaporative cooling technologies, as the unit can achieve wet bulb effectiveness (WBE) of 90% 120%. The project objective was to demonstrate the capabilities of the high-performance multi-staged IEC technology and its ability to enhance energy efficiency and interior comfort in dry climates, while substantially reducing electric-peak demand. T

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA600308

Entities

People

  • Ed Hancock
  • Eric Kozubal
  • Greg Barker
  • James Galvin
  • Jesse Dean
  • Lesley Herman
  • Mark Eastment
  • Scott Clark
  • Tim Heaton

Organizations

  • Environmental Security Technology Certification Program

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cost Analysis
  • Data Acquisition
  • Department Of Defense
  • Dew Point
  • Economic Analysis
  • Economics
  • Electronic Mail
  • Energy Consumption
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Energy Management
  • Environment
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Heat Energy
  • Humidity
  • Load Monitoring
  • Performance Tests
  • Wet Bulb Temperature

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Engineering.
  • Mathematics or Statistics