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New NREL A/C Technology Uses Little Power to Dry and Cool Air The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has invented a new air conditioning process that could use 50 to 90 percent less energy than today’s most efficient A/C units.
The efficiency of the DEVap system arises from the use of membranes, evaporative cooling and liquid desiccants in concert—drying the air using heat, and then using an evaporative cooling mechanism to cool the dried air.
The desiccants in use in the system are highly concentrated aqueous salt solutions of lithium chloride or calcium chloride. The system thus doesn’t contain global-warming-promoting CFCs or HCFCs.
Desiccants have not typically been used for commercial and residential cooling because devices integrating them have not been convenient to install or maintain. The NREL device utilizes thin, hydrophobic membranes to keep the water and desiccant liquids separated from the air stream.
Air drawn into the DEVap’s heat-mass exchanger core is cooled and dried in a fraction of a second, meaning the device ensures comfort by controlling both temperature and humidity. The process, which is thermally activated, can be powered by natural gas or solar energy. NREL hopes to ultimately license the technology to manufacturers and will be refining the DEVap system over the next couple of years. |
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