HVAC Handbook Applications Engineering Manual For Desiccant Systems

Chapter 1 - Introduction
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Desiccant Systems
Desiccant systems and components are a useful addition to the engineer's tool kit. They allow independent control of humidity, as well as potential energy savings and increased comfort levels.
BENEFITS FOR THE SECOND CENTURY OF AIR CONDITIONING

Desiccant technology now stands where mechanical cooling stood in the 1930's. Desiccant systems have been used by industrial engineers for years to achieve productivity and energy benefits which far outweigh their installed cost. Now, with lower cost desiccant components, commercial buildings are using desiccant systems because they provide benefits beyond those of simple air cooling. In many ways, the rise of desiccant systems is parallel to the 80-year-old transition from fan-only cooling to mechanical cooling. Mechanical cooling did not reduce the need for fans and blowers. Likewise, desiccant technology will not reduce the need for mechanical cooling; it will simply shift part of the cooling load to thermal energy sources. Also, just as mechanical cooling add cost to a fan-only system, desiccant equipment can sometimes cost more than mechanical cooling. But just as cooling coils add functionality to a ventilation system, desiccant systems provide benefits which are beyond the reach of mechanical cooling systems. Specifically, desiccant systems can provide: Precise control of humidity, independent of temperature. Dew points below the practical limits of cooling technology. Comfortable conditions during cool, muggy weather Lower operating cost Lower peak electrical demand. Ability to use low-cost thermal energy to control both humidity and temperature. Dry duct systems in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 62, avoiding microbial and fungal growth associated with sick building syndrome.
REALIZING THE BENEFITS

The growing popularity of desiccant systems is analogous to the addition of cooling systems to fans systems in another important respect. Namely, the system must be designed differently to take advantage of benefits and to minimize installed cost. One hundred years ago, engineers could cool a building using only fans, but the air flows used were very large, and air flow velocities had to be kept high. When mechanical cooling arrived in the engineer's tool kit, air flows and air velocities could be greatly reduced because of the greater cooling capacity of cold air. But if air flows were not reduced, a mechanical cooling system could be cost-prohibitive. The transition to desiccant systems is similar. A building's air handling system must be designed to take advantage of the technical differences between the desiccant system and the older technology it replaces or supplements. That's the reason for this application guide: to provide engineers with an "efficient thought process" about the advantages and limitations of desiccants. With this knowledge, desiccants can be applied as quickly as other air conditioning technologies, and possibly more cost-effectively. The guide will describe how desiccant systems work, what components they contain and how to install and maintain them. It also describes general application principles for such systems, and gives examples of how those principles are applied in practice to specific buildings.
THE FUTURE
Information contained in this guide pertains primarily to commercial buildings, and as this edition goes to press, desiccant system applications are expanding very rapidly. We sincerely hope that the reader will find this information useful. And as his or her experience with desiccants expands, we look forward to hearing the reader's suggestions to improve and expand the guide in future editions.
COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE
Chapter 2 - Fundamentals
CHAPTER 2 FUNDAMENTALS
Operating Principles
Desiccant components are mechanically quite simple, durable and reliable.
DESICCANTS
Desiccants are materials which can attract and hold moisture. Nearly any material is a desiccanteven glass can collect a small amount of moisture. But desiccants used in commercial equipment are selected for their ability to hold large amounts of moisture. For example, the silica gel packets often sealed into vitamin bottles can hold moisture equal to about 20% of their dry weight. Liquid desiccant materials can hold even more moisture. But all desiccants used in commercial systems work the same way.
Desiccant Wheel Operation

Reactivation Heater Moist Reactivation Air
Humid Process Air
Dry Process Air to the HVAC System
HOW DESICCANTS WORK

Desiccants remove water vapor by chemical attraction caused by differences in vapor pressure. When air is humid, it has a high water vapor pressure. In contrast, there are very few water molecules on a dry desiccant surface, so the water vapor pressure at the desiccant surface is very low. Water molecules move from the humid air to the dry desiccant in order to equalize this pressure differential. With desiccants, moisture removal occurs in the vapor phase. There is no liquid condensate. Consequently, desiccant dehumidification can continue even when the dew point of the air is below freezing. This is different from cooling-based dehumidification, in which the moisture freezes and halts the process if part of the coil surface is below 32F. Desiccants can be either liquids or solids, and there are many different materials of both types. The principles described here apply to both liquid and solid systems. However, the great majority of systems built for commercial buildings use solid desiccants.
Honeycomb Matrix Desiccant Wheel
Moist "process" air is passed through a rotating wheel, which looks like a ceramic honeycomb. The desiccant in the wheel absorbs moisture. Then the wheel slowly rotates into a second, heated air stream. The hot "reactivation" air removes moisture from the desiccant so it can absorb more humidity when the wheel rotates back into the process air stream.
Figure 1. Desiccant wheel operating principles
DESICCANT WHEELS
Figure 1 shows the basic desiccant componentthe wheel. The desiccant material, usually a silica gel or some type of zeolite, is impregnated into a support structure. This looks like an honeycomb which is open on both ends. Air passes
through the honeycomb passages, giving up moisture to the desiccant contained in the walls of the honeycomb cells. The desiccant structure is formed into the shape of a wheel. The wheel constantly rotates through two separate air streams. The first air stream, called the process air, is dried by the desiccant. The second air stream, called reactivation or regeneration air, is heated. It dries the desiccant.
Chapter 2 - Fundamentals
Moisture Exchange (Enthalpy Wheel)

75 70 gr/lb
Moisture Removal (Desiccant Wheel)

250 120 gr/lb 85 120 gr/lb
Exhaust Air
Outdoor Air Reactivation Heater
Outdoor Air
85 120 gr/lb
76 77 gr/lb
Outdoor Air
85 120 gr/lb
121 42 gr/lb
20 rpm
0.2 rpm
An enthalpy wheel has a small amount of desiccant, so it can move moisture from the supply air to the exhaust. But without heat for reactivation, its dehumidification capacity depends on the dryness of the exhaust air. Figure 2. Desiccant wheels compared to energy recovery wheels
A desiccant wheel rotates slowly, and contains more desiccant than an enthalpy wheel. By heating the reactivation air, it can remove much more water vapor than an enthalpy wheel.
DESICCANTS CHANGE VAPOR TO HEAT

One aspect of desiccant wheel behavior can be confusing to the first-time user of the technology; air leaves a desiccant wheel dry, but warmer than when it entered the wheel. For example, if air enters a desiccant wheel at 70F and 50% rh, it will leave the wheel at about 100F and 4% rh. This non-intuitive behavior becomes easier to understand as the reverse of evaporative cooling. When water is sprayed into air, it evaporates by using part of the sensible heat in the airso the dry bulb temperature falls as water vapor is added to the air. That process is intuitive to children running through sprinklers in summertime. Desiccants produce the opposite phenomenon. As water vapor is removed from air, the dry bulb temperature of the air rises. The amount of temperature rise depends on the amount of water removed. More water removal produces a greater temperature rise. The initial user naturally asks: how can desiccant systems save cooling energy if dehumidification adds sensible heat to the air? Part of the answer is that some heat is moved to reactivation by a heat exchanger. (Chapter 3, figure 4) The rest of the answer depends on the application. For example, if air is dry, it may not be necessary to cool it if the space is already overcooledas in a supermarket, where display cases cool the aisles as well as the product. Alternatively, dry air can be cooled using low-cost indirect evaporative cooling such as cooling towers, or with highly efficient vapor compression systems operating at high evaporator temperatures. In such cases, desiccants can save energy and energy cost.
ENERGY RECOVERY VS. DESICCANT WHEELS

Desiccant wheels are often confused with energy recovery wheels. The confusion is understandable. Both devices look nearly the same, because energy recovery wheels and desiccant wheels are constructed with honeycomb media. Also, total heat or "enthalpy" wheels contain desiccant. Also, sensible-only heat wheels are sometimes used as post-coolers in desiccant systems. But there are important functional differences between these devices which appear so similar. Heat wheels are optimized to transfer sensible heat between two air streams, while desiccant wheels are optimized to remove moisture. These different purposes lead to differences in materials and in wheel rotation speed. An energy recovery wheel rotates at a comparatively high speed (20 rpm), to maximize the heat transfer between air streams. A desiccant wheel rotates 60 times more slowly (10 to 20 rph). The slow rotation speed allows the desiccant to adsorb more moisture, and it minimizes the amount of heat carried over from the hot reactivation air into the cooler process air. If the exhaust air is dry, an energy recovery wheel can transfer some moisture out of the incoming air. But energy recovery wheels contain less desiccant than desiccant wheels. Also, the honeycomb material, air seals and support structure of an enthalpy wheel cannot endure the temperature and moisture differences typical of desiccant wheel operation. Consequently, the wheels perform quite differently. As seen in figure 2, thermal energy used for reactivation allows desiccant wheels to remove much more moisture than energy recovery wheels. Desiccant wheels can deliver air below the moisture condition of the exhaust air. That level of dryness cannot be reached with energy recovery wheels.
Chapter 3 - Types Of Desiccant Systems
CHAPTER 3 TYPES OF DESICCANT SYSTEMS
All-Desiccant & Hybrid Systems

Desiccant systems combine a desiccant wheel with additional cooling and heating components. These may be conventional gas-driven or vapor-compression coolers, or they may be evaporative coolers combined with heat exchangers.
COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEMS

Figure 1 shows a typical example of a desiccant system designed for a commercial building. It includes a desiccant wheel for humidity control, and a conventional vapor compression cooling system for temperature control. Such designs combine the best of both technologies, and point to one of the principal advantages of desiccant-assisted HVAC systems, namely that they can control humidity independently of temperature. The desiccant subsystem is controlled by a humidistat and the cooling coil is controlled by a thermostat. This allows humidity control regardless of what the space may or may not need for heat removal. But fundamentally, there are two different types of desiccant systems: those which use only desiccants for all cooling and humidity control, and those like the system in figure 3, which combine desiccants with conventional components.
ALL-DESICCANT SYSTEMS
Figure 2 shows how a desiccant wheel can be combined with a rotary heat exchanger to form a complete air conditioning system. Air is dried by the desiccant wheel, and then cooled by the heat exchanger. This configuration has useful advantages when large amounts of fresh air are needed, and when the exhaust air can be evaporatively cooled and used for post-cooling the air leaving the desiccant wheel. Under those circumstances, an all-desiccant system is the same physical size as conventional alternatives because the ventilation air required for the building defines the overall system's air flow. The system also uses very little electrical power, so it has advantages when electrical demand charges are high. When these two circumstances combine, such as when large amounts of ventilation air must be added to an existing building in an area with high peak demand charges, the alldesiccant system will reduce both energy and first cost compared to other ways of adding the increased fresh air. The disadvantage of the all-desiccant system is that, at peak design temperatures, it delivers supply air at temperatures above 70F.
Figure 1. Hybrid desiccant system using both desiccant and vaporcompression cooling.
10
Desiccant Wheel
All-Desiccant Air Conditioning System
Reactivation Heater Heat Wheel Evaporative Pad Exhaust Air Supply Air
Chicago 2.5% Design 91, 92gr/lb
48gr/lb
72
75 100 125
Figure 2 All-Desiccant system, including an indirect evaporative cooler.

The only exceptions are in far-north and high-altitude climates, where the ambient moisture is so low that evaporative cooling can provide lower air temperatures. So in most climates, if the building does not need a large percentage of ventilation air, and when the exhaust air cannot be collected and brought back to the unit for post-cooling, the all-desiccant system has a disadvantage compared to a hybrid system. Since it cannot cool air below 70F on a "design day", the all-desiccant system must use large amounts of air to remove a given heat load. Such systems are physically much larger than an equivalent conventional cooling system . The conventional system would supply 55 air, and therefore remove the same internal sensible heat load using less air. For example, consider a small office building maintained at 75F with an internal sensible heat load of 180,000 Btu/h (15 tons). If the supply air can be cooled to 55F, the system will have to supply 8,333 cfm: Btu/h = cfm x 1.08 x t cfm = (180,000) (1.08 x (75 - 55)) cfm required @55F = 8,333 But if the supply air can only be cooled to 70F, the temperature difference between supply and return is only 5F , so the air flow needed to remove the load is much greater: Btu/h = cfm x 1.08 x t cfm required @ 70F = (180,000) (1.08 x (75 - 70)) cfm = 33,333 However, if that office building needs a great deal of outside air, the all-desiccant system could handle the ventilation load, and a separate system arranged to handle the internal heat load. In that circumstance, the all-desiccant system has advantages over a conventional system. The desiccant system's 70F delivered air removes some internal load since the space is being maintained at 75F. And the heat exchanger in the desiccant system can operate during cooler months, to recover waste heat from the building exhaust. Since the system size is governed by the required outside air quantity and not by the internal load, the all-desiccant system is the same size as a conventional alternative. So installed cost is close to the same, and the desiccant system costs much less to operate because it uses so little electrical power. In summary, an all-desiccant system is generally attractive when: Large amounts of air must be exhausted from the building. The exhaust air can be brought back to where the make-up air enters the building. Electrical demand charges are high. Supplying outside air at 70F is adequate for the application. In other circumstances, the engineer may wish to consider a hybrid desiccant system.
11
Heat Exchanger Reactivation Pre-Heat Optional Indirect Evaporative Post-Cooler
Hybrid Desiccant System Hardware Options
Direct-Fired Gas Reactivation Heater Desiccant Wheel (Reactivation Sector) Reactivation Fan
Reactivation Air
Exhaust
To Conditioned Space
3 4
Process Air
Optional Direct Evaporative Post-Cooler Optional Cooling Coil Heat Wheel Post-cooling
Heating The Air Cooling The Air
Filter Desiccant Wheel Process Air Sector Process Air Fan
Figure 5. Hybrid desiccant system, including a variety of heating and cooling options.
HYBRID DESICCANT SYSTEMS

Figure 5 shows the wide variety of components which can form hybrid desiccant systems, i.e: systems which include a desiccant component along with gas cooling or conventional coils. Figure 6 shows the psychrometric behavior of different system alternatives. Note especially the dry bulb temperature leaving the system. To a great extent, the leaving air temperature determines which applications are economically practical for each system alternative. Some applications, such as hotel corridors and ice rinks, are not sensitive to a leaving air temperature of 78 to 85F on a design day during the summer. So an indirect evaporative post-cooler is the best cooling option because it is quite economical to install and operate. Other applications like hospital operating rooms must have air at relative humidities below 50% rh and temperatures below 65F. In those cases, gas cooling or conventional cooling coils will be required downstream of the desiccant wheel. To understand each equipment alternative, we will track the process air as it moves through the system. The diagrams in figure 6 assume the system is arranged to handle 100% outdoor air on the process side, and 100% outdoor air for reactivation.
1 2
Air enters the process side of the desiccant wheel from outside the building. It is hot and humid. Air leaves the process side of the desiccant wheel hotter, and much drier than when it entered the system. In most cases, this air is too hot to send directly to the building. It must be cooled. Dry air leaves the first stage of post-cooling at a lower temperature. The sensible heat has been removed from the process air and transferred to the reactivation air by a heat exchanger. The schematic here shows a rotary heat wheel, but heat pipes and plate-type heat exchangers are used by many system suppliers instead of heat wheels. Regardless of the type of heat exchanger, it provides a double benefit: the process air is cooled using only the energy needed to push the air through the exchanger. So the operating cost of the cooling is very low. Secondly, the heat from process is used to pre-heat incoming reactivation air, which saves slightly on the cost of thermal energy. Point 4 represents the additional cooling which can be accomplished by the heat exchanger if the air on the other side of the heat exchanger is
12
Psychrometrics of Each Desiccant System Alternative

Direct Evaporative Cooling Option Can save operating costs, but may increase unit installed cost because more air will be needed for the same sensible cooling load, and humidity in duct work is high. Outside Air Entering The System
Process Air Path

1 43 100
Desiccant Dehumidification Removes moisture from the supply air, but adds heat in proportion to the amount of water removed. Low-cost post-cooling is essential to achieving overall cost savings.
6 5
Cooling Coil Option Post-cooling with vapor compression or absorption systems provides greater cooling capacity and a dry system at an increased operating cost
2 125
75
Indirect Post-Cooling Option Saves substantial cooling energy on the process side at the expense of slightly increased gas cost in reactivation.
Reactivation Air Path

BA C
125
D
250
Optional Waste Heat Recovery Saves a modest amount of heating energy in return for an increase in installed cost. Direct-Fired Heater Reactivates the desiccant at very low cost.
Indirect Evaporative Cooling Option Increases the post cooling effect of the heat wheel, reducing operating expense for the cost of providing water for the cooling pads
75
100
Heat Exchanger Post-Cooling Saves considerable operating cost by moving heat from the process air to the reactivation air. Both cooling and heating energy requirements are reduced by the heat exchanger.
Figure 6. State points within a desiccant system.

evaporatively cooled. In this option, the incoming reactivation air is cooled by an evaporative pad before it enters the heat exchanger. Since the air on the reactivation side of the exchanger is cooler, more heat can be removed from the process side. This diagram shows roughly what happens on a design day, so the evaporative cooling effect is not very large. But when outside air temperature and moisture is lower99% of the time during the yearthe cooling effect of the evaporative pad will be substantial. This reduces the need for any subsequent post cooling.
An alternative to conventional cooling coils is a second evaporative cooling pad, this time on the process air side. Direct evaporative cooling seldom chills air as deeply as a conventional coil. Also, the supply air is saturated at a comparatively high temperature (73 to 78F on a design day). So such systems cannot be used to control humidity unless a relatively warm, highly humid environment is needed, as in a greenhouse.
Point 5 shows the temperature and moisture leaving the system when a gas cooling or conventional cooling system follows the heat exchanger. Air is sent to the building at a very cool and very dry condition. This configuration is popular because it keeps air distribution ducts and filters dry and free of microbial growth. Low temperature, dry supply air allows the system to do a great deal of cooling and dehumidification with less air than conventional cooling systems.
The evaporative cooling option (point 6 ) is less expensive to install, and uses very little energy compared to conventional post-cooling alternatives. So this option has advantages when electrical power cost reduction is the principal goal of a project rather than humidity control. To date, hybrid systems have been popular, perhaps because they combine the best characteristics of each technology: desiccants for moisture removal and conventional cooling for sensible heat removal. Hybrid systems are nearly always
13
Liquid Desiccant System and Flow Diagram
Figure 7. Liquid desiccant system
smaller than all-desiccant systems, because they can provide air at low levels of both temperature and humidity. So smaller hybrid systems can do the same work as larger alldesiccant or all-cooling units.
LIQUID DESICCANT SYSTEMS

Over the last 15 years, manufacturers of desiccant systems for commercial buildings have concentrated primarily on desiccant wheel type units, which use solid desiccants. But in industrial markets, liquid desiccant systems have been used very effectively since the 1920's. In recent years, manufacturers of liquid desiccant equipment have been expanding their activity in commercial markets. The unique characteristics of liquid desiccant systems are effective in commercial applications, especially in larger buildings, where the advantages of liquid desiccants provide cost-effective competition to both solid desiccants and to conventional cooling systems. How Liquid Desiccants Work Liquid desiccants, such as lithium chloride, can absorb up to 1200 times their dry weight in water. The concentration of salt in the liquid solution determines the absorption characteristics of the liquid, which is sprayed into the process air. If the solution is concentrated, it can absorb moisture from drier air streams, and if the solution is dilute, it absorbs moisture from more humid air streams. So by controlling the concentration of the solution, one can control the humidity of the air that passes through the liquid spray. In order to control the temperature of the process air, one simply adjusts the temperature of the liquid desiccant being sprayed into that air.
Liquid systems are very simple in concept, as described above. In hardware, they are somewhat more complex, because liquid desiccant solution can be corrosive, and because the components of the system can be located in different parts of a building with interconnecting piping. In the past, this flexibility of component arrangement has meant that in smaller sizes, liquid desiccant systems were more expensive to install than dry desiccant systems. Unique advantages of liquid systems In larger sizes, liquid and solid desiccant systems are closer in cost, and the advantages of liquid systems can be significant. Specifically, liquid systems: Kill bacteria and viruses, clearing the air of biological contamination Can operate effectively with very low-temperature reactivation energy (as low as 130F) Can connect many process air conditioner sections with a single regenerator section, saving costs for large installations where many air inlets may be scattered widely through a building. Can use low-cost cooling tower water for removing sensible heat from the desiccant dehumidification process, eliminating any need for mechanical cooling equipment in many cases. In summary, although a full discussion of liquid desiccant systems is beyond the scope of this application guide, the technology is well-proven. As manufacturers continue to reduce costs and simplify installation, liquid systems will be applied in low-rise construction as well as in the larger commercial and institutional and industrial buildings where liquids have enjoyed success in the past.
Chapter 4 - Configurations & Consequences
15
CHAPTER 4 CONFIGURATIONS + CONSEQUENCES
100% Outside Air Systems

Desiccant systems are especially useful for providing dry and cool fresh air. A desiccant system can remove heat and moisture from ventilation air, freeing conventional systems to remove the buildings internal heat loads.
he outside air ventilation requirements of ASHRAE Stan dard 62 can present a considerable challenge to HVAC system designers. Conventional equipment does not deal effectively with large amounts of outside air. Thermal comfort and humidity control can suffer unless special measures are taken to remove heat and moisture from fresh air. Desiccant systems are ideal for preconditioning large amounts of fresh air. This section of the application guide will survey alternatives for 100% outside air desiccant systems. Each system configuration has its own advantages and limitations, which will become apparent as the systems are compared to each other.
sider that alternative, the dry process air on the other side of the heat exchanger can be cooled more deeply. The most practical way to evaluate the advantages and limitations of each approach is to calculate the specific supply air temperatures and moisture levels which can be achieved with each design alternative, and consider their effect on the rest of the HVAC system.
ASSUMPTIONS
To compare the alternatives on equal terms, one must make some basic design assumptions. For the alternatives in this chapter, the key assumptions include: The building : needs 10,000 cfm of outside air has additional cooling systems to remove internal sensible heat loads needs to be maintained at 75F and 50% rh. (The center of the ASHRAE summer comfort zone) The location: is Detroit, Michigan has a 1% peak design enthalpy which occurs at 83F, 123 gr/lb, based on ASHRAE data. (RP 754) The owner:
ISSUES FOR 100% OUTSIDE AIR SYSTEMS

In designing desiccant systems, removing the sensible heat produced by desiccant dehumidification is an important issue. In a 100% outside air system, the issue is especially important because fresh air carries a great deal of moisture, so the desiccant process will produce a great deal of sensible heat. As described in the previous sections, heat can be removed from the supply air by using a heat exchanger to move the heat to the reactivation air. The temperature of the incoming reactivation air is critical. The colder the air, the colder the process air can be made, so the overall system can do more work. There are two places to get that reactivation air: from the building exhaust or from the outside environment. If the designer can use building exhaust air, the system can cool the process air more deeply. But if only outside air can be used, there will be more heat for other systems to remove after the supply air leaves the desiccant system. Regardless of the source of the reactivation air, it can be made still cooler through evaporation. If the owner will con-
is willing to consider the use of evaporative cooling to reduce cost of operation would, if economically feasible, prefer to have better-than-typical humidity control in duct work and in the building itself.
16
Make-up Air With Exhaust Recovery

150
Post-cooling by heat exchanger alone
Supply Air 89, 55gr
A D
System Can Remove

Internal
MBtu/h Sensible (151) Latent 68 Sensible Latent (65) 463
Tons (12.6) 5.7 (5.4) 38.6
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
A
DW
B
HW
C D
32 150
Total
A
Tem p er at u r e ( F ) M o ist u r e ( g r /lb ) A ir F lo w ( scf m )
C
89 55 10,000
D
75 65 BLDG
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 1 - 100% outside air, with exhaust air used for post-cooling.
Make-up Air - No Exhaust Recovery

150
Post-cooling by heat exchanger alone
Supply Air 95, 55gr
A D
System Can Remove
Internal
Tons (18.1) 5.7 (10.8) 38.6
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
A
DW
B
HW
C D
32 150
Total
A
Te m p e r a t u r e ( F ) Moisture (gr/lb) Air Flow (scfm)
C
95 55 10,000
D
75 65 BLDG
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 2 - 100% outside air, with outside air used for post-cooling.
EXHAUST RECOVERY
System 1 and 2 differ in only one respect: system 1 uses building exhaust air to cool the process air after the desiccant wheel, and system 2 uses outside air for post-cooling. In all other respects, the systems are the same. They process 10,000 cfm of fresh air and deliver it dry, for subsequent cooling by other systems downstream. Both systems can remove 437 lbs of moisture per hour from the fresh air. Consequently, that air is so dry that it can remove 64 lbs per hour from the building, when the desired control level is 75, 50% rh. So both systems have ample moisture removal capacity, and it is very unlikely that any cooling coil downstream of the desiccant system will have to remove any moisture at all. Because the cooling air comes from different places, the two systems do different amounts of work. System 1 does more work, delivering air at 89F. System 2 delivers air at 95. This is because, on the cooling side of the heat exchanger, system 1 uses 75 air from the building, where
system 2 uses air from the outside at 83. In almost all cases, the lower temperature is more desirable because it reduces cooling requirements in the rest of the HVAC system. However, in some buildings, it may not be practical to bring the exhaust air back to the same location as the fresh air inlet duct work. For example, in a light industrial building with many internal fire walls and a dozen different process exhaust points, the return duct work may be more costly than the small additional cost to add capacity to the other rooftop air conditioning units. Or in cases where a very small amount of fresh air is needed, rather than 10,000 cfm, the additional sensible cooling capacity may already be available in other parts of the system at no additional cost, compared with a high cost for return duct work. But in most cases, and in particular those cases where as much as 10,000 cfm of fresh air is needed, the use of return air for post-cooling quickly pays off any small cost of a return duct system to bring the exhaust air back to the unit before it leaves the building.
17

150
Post-cooling by indirect evaporation
Supply Air 81, 55gr
A E D C
E
System Can Remove
Internal
EC
MBtu/h Sensible (65) Latent 68 Sensible Latent 22 463
Tons (5.4) 5.7 1.8 38.6
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
A
DW
B
HW
C D
32 150
Total
A
Temperature ( F ) Moisture (gr/lb) Air Flow (scfm)
C
81 55 10,000
D
75 65 BLDG
E
65 82 10,000
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 3 - 100% outside air, with exhaust air energy recovery and indirect evaporative post-cooling. Make-up Air - No Exhaust Recovery
150
Post-cooling by indirect evaporation
Supply Air 90, 55gr
E A D
E
System Can Remove
Internal
EC
Tons (13.5) 5.7 (6.3) 38.6
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
A
DW
B
HW
C D
32 150
Total
A
Tem p er at u r e ( F ) M o ist u r e ( g r /lb ) A ir F lo w ( scf m )
C
90 55 10,000
D
75 65 BLDG
E
77 133 10,000
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 4 - 100% outside air, with outside air indirect evaporative post-cooling.
INDIRECT EVAPORATIVE COOLING

Systems 3 and 4 are similar to systems 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 use indirect evaporative post cooling. This feature adds slightly to the purchase cost of the equipment, but saves on downstream cooling capacity in the rest of the HVAC system. For example, note that the supply air temperature for system 3 is 8 degrees lower than what system 1 can provide (81 compared to 89). On 10,000 cfm, that allows the system 3 configuration to save 7 tons of cooling capacity. As with the previous systems, system 3 outperforms system 4, because the exhaust air can cool the supply air more deeply than can the outside air. The major advantage to indirect evaporative cooling is its very low operational cost, and simple maintenance compared with conventional cooling systems. The only cost to cool the air evaporatively is the cost of the water, and the modest cost to overcome the additional air flow resistance of the evaporative pad (less than 0.15"WC). That is usually less than 1/10th the cost of running an equivalent vapor compression cooling system.
Of course, these benefits do not come without some cost. For example, while simpler than a vapor compression cooling system, the evaporative cooling system will require some additional maintenance beyond the maintenance of the desiccant wheel and the heat exchanger. Also, saving 7 tons on 10,000 cfm may not justify the increased purchase cost and maintenance cost if there are 7 extra tons of cooling capacity downstream of the desiccant system. These facts suggest that indirect evaporative post-cooling is likely to yield the best cost-benefit ratio when: The system is large enough so the net cooling savings and peak electrical demand reduction is large in absolute terms. The building is large enough to have a maintenance staff which will already be familiar with service requirements of simple evaporative coolers or cooling towers. The exhaust can be returned to the same place as the supply, so the extra cooling effect of the dry exhaust air can maximize the cooling savings.
18

150
Post-cooling by heat exchanger along with gas or conventional cooling coil

System Can Remove
Internal
Supply Air 55, 55gr
A F
D
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
MBtu/h Sensible 216 Latent 68 Sensible Latent 302 463
Tons 18.0 5.7 25.2 38.6
A
DW
B
HW
C
CC
D E
32 150
Total
A
Temperature (F) Moisture (gr/lb) Air Flow (scfm)
C
89 55 10,000
D
55 55 10,000
E
75 65 BLDG
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 5 - 100% outside air, with exhaust air heat recovery, and assist from conventional cooling.
150

System Can Remove
Supply Air 55, 55gr
A F
D
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
Internal
Tons 18.0 5.7 25.2 38.6
A
DW
B
HW
C
CC
D E
32 150
Total
A
C
95 55 10,000
D
55 55 10,000
E
75 65 BLDG
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 6 - 100% outside air, with assist from conventional cooling, but no heat recovery.
HYBRID SYSTEMS WITH AND WITHOUT EXHAUST RECOVERY

Systems 5 and 6 are hybrid desiccant systems. In other words, they use conventional or gas cooling coils after the heat exchanger so the system can deliver air to the building at the 55 temperature which is typical of AC systems. That conventional assist allows these system to remove 64 lbs of water vapor and 216,000 Btu/h from inside the building, in addition to removing all the temperature and moisture loads from the incoming fresh air. To do that, they use 30 and 36 tons respectively of conventional equipment, which is mounted after the heat exchanger. System 5 uses less conventional cooling, because it makes use of recovered cooling by using building exhaust air on the cooling side of the heat exchanger. System 6 has no energy recovery, so it must use an additional 6 tons of conventional cooling to achieve the same 55 supply air temperature. Each of these alternatives has its own advantages compared to the other, and both have significant differences from systems 1 through 4.
Systems 5 & 6 vs. Systems 1-4 5&6 remove 18 tons of sensible load from the building, 1-4 add sensible heat load to the building. 5&6 use more electrical power 5&6 cost more to purchase System 5 advantages over 6 Uses less electrical power for the same cooling work Reduces winter heating costs Reduces annual operating costs With these advantages, system 5 is especially useful for buildings which have return air duct work, and for mid-continent and northern climates where the cost of heating up outside air in the winter is reduced by exhaust recovery. System 6 advantages over 5 Lower installed cost by avoiding return air duct work Allows multiple, independent exhaust points System 6 is advantageous where first cost is more of a concern than operating cost, and where there are a reduced benefit to winter heat recovery; such as in hot and humid climates. Eliminating a central, combined exhaust makes this system useful in applications where air must be exhausted from a building at many different points.
19

150
Post-cooling by indirect evaporation along with gas or conventional cooling coil

System Can Remove
Internal
Supply Air 55, 55gr
F A E
F EC D A
DW
Tons 18.0 5.7 25.2 38.6
Lbs/hr -------64 -------437
B
HW
C
CC
D E A
32 150
Total
C
90 55 10,000
D
55 55 10,000
E
75 65 BLDG
F
77 133 5,300
Temperature ( F) Moisture (gr/lb) Air Flow (scfm)
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
System 7 - 100% outside air, with indirect evaporative post-cooling and conventional assist.
All-Desiccant With Exhaust Recovery

Post-cooling uses both indirect and direct evaporative cooling pads
System Can Remove Supply Air 68, 81gr
150
A D EC B
H A
G B
F EC C
HW EC
D E B
32 150
Internal
Sensible Latent Sensible Latent
MBtu/h 76 -109 162 286
Tons 6.3 -9.0 13.5 23.8
Lbs/hr --------102 -------270
DW
Total
A
C
82 58 10,000
D
68 81 10,000
E
75 65 BLDG
H
250 78 3,000
83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000
67 129 78 78 10,000 10,000
System 8 - 100% outside air, with both indirect and direct evaporative cooling, assisted by dehumidification inside the building
System 8 is the classic, all-desiccant makeup air configuration, which provides sensible cooling with no assistance from vapor compression coils. The system cools the incoming air from 82F down to 68F, and reduces the moisture from 123 gr/lb to 81 gr/lb. However, in contrast to all the other systems described here, system 8 does not dehumidify the building. In fact, it adds 102 lbs of water per hour to the internal moisture load. That moisture must be removed by other systems. If other systems do not remove that moisture, system 8 cannot cool the air as shown here. Rising moisture in the return air would reduce effectiveness of the indirect post-cooler, and the supply air temperature and moisture would rise. System 8 is best applied where other desiccant or conventional dehumidification systems can remove the moisture load remaining in the supply air. Large buildings with multiple systems can use this system to add fresh air without overloading existing electrical capacity. System 8 provides 10,000 cfm of cooled, fresh air, but only needs power for two fans and two fractional hp drive motors.
HYBRID AND ALL-DESICCANT SYSTEMS WITH EVAPORATIVE COOLING

System 7 includes all the components and same flow schematic as system 6, but also includes an evaporative pad to boost the cooling effect of the heat exchanger. This allows system 7 to cool the air leaving the desiccant wheel to 90, which in turn reduces the amount of conventional cooling capacity needed to lower the supply air temperature to 55. System 7 needs 32 tons of conventional cooling, compared to 36 tons in system 6. That 4 tons of capacity is not really a significant saving at installation time, but it saves a considerable amount of money over a year's operation. As the temperature and moisture outside reduces, the evaporative cooling effect increases. Then the conventional equipment can be shut off entirely for thousands of hours of the year, when the temperature and humidity outside is reduced. For example, during spring, and fall, and during evenings and mornings in the summer.
20
COMPARING OUTSIDE AIR ALTERNATIVES

Figure 7 compares all of the makeup air systems according to four characteristics: Loads they remove from the building (or add to it) Loads they remove or add to the incoming fresh air Thermal energy they need to operate at the design condition Supplemental gas or conventional cooling needed to bring the supply air to a building-neutral temperature of 75 (or to 55 in systems 5-7). The figure divides the systems into three groups. Systems 1 through 4 are considered all-desiccant systems, because they do not contain gas or conventional cooling components. Systems 5 through 7 are hybrid systems, because they combine desiccants with conventional cooling. System 8 is an all-desiccant system, but it uses direct evaporative cooling, so it does not remove moisture like the other systems.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SYSTEMS 1 - 4
These are all-desiccant system, in that they contain no supplemental conventional cooling. In addition, they share these characteristics: Lowest first cost The all-desiccant systems are less costly than the hybrid systems, because they contain fewer components. Remove moisture, but add heat The post-cooling heat exchanger, even when assisted by the evaporative cooler, does not have enough capacity to remove all the sensible heat produced by dehumidification, so these systems remove the latent load from both the incoming air and from the building itself, but they deliver air which must be cooled by other systems inside the building. Exhaust recovery improves winter economics In the summer months, exhaust recovery reduces post-cooling expense, but not by much. For example, system 1 uses exhaust recovery and system 2 does not. System 1 has only saved 5.3 tons of post-cooling. But during winter months, the value of waste heat recovery can be very great, perhaps reducing makeup air heating costs by 60% to 80%. Cost advantage at high internal sensible heat loads If extra sensible capacity already exists inside the building for other reasons, the small additional sensible load from the all-desiccant makeup air system may be inconsequential. This would keep costs down by avoiding the need for a supplemental cooling system on the makeup air.
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF 1-7

Each approach has advantages and limitations, but the first 7 systems share some common characteristics: Dry & Fungus-Free Duct Work Every alternative shown here delivers dry air to the building. The warning in ASHRAE Standard 62 against saturated air in duct systems can be satisfied by any of these alternatives. The low humidity also allows all internal cooling coils to run dry, reducing the hazard of microbial growth in drain pans and insulation. Internal Latent Loads Removed By Makeup Air All of these alternatives remove so much moisture from the makeup air, that any internal cooling coils can be designed to operate at a higher evaporator temperature, which can reduce their power consumption. Rock-Solid Humidity Control The moisture removal capacity of all these systems allows very stable humidity levels inside the building throughout the whole range of weather conditions. This differs from conventional cooling systems, where humidity levels shift constantly, because dehumidification is an arbitrary result of whatever cooling happens to be needed. Improved Temperature Control Without the moisture load to remove, the internal cooling system can control temperature much more evenly, because there is no need to over-cool and re-heat the air as incoming ventilation air changes in temperature and moisture content. Reduced Peak Power Demand All these systems remove moisture through thermal energy rather than by using electric power. Part of the sensible load created by dehumidification is removed by a heat exchanger, so the net peak power demand is reduced.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SYSTEMS 5-7

These systems all include extra cooling capacity to deliver air at 55, so they can all remove not only moisture, but also remove some of the heat from inside the building. In addition, they share these characteristics: They do more work, so they cost more Systems 5-7 all include supplemental cooling coils, so they cost more than systems 1-4. But the hybrid systems also do much more work than the all-desiccant systems, delivering air at 55 to the building instead of 78 or 90. Cost advantage for buildings with low sensible loads If the makeup air represents not only 80% of the moisture load on the building, but also a high percentage of the total sensible load, then all the internal loads may be removed by cooling the required makeup air. That way, there may be very little need for internal cooling systems, which would lower the overall installation costs for the building.
SYSTEM 8 - ALL-DESICCANT ALTERNATIVE

System 8 cools, but does not dehumidify the building. When other systems in the building can remove moisture, system 8 provides 10,000 cfm of nearly-conditioned air for almost no power consumption (other than for fans). When existing buildings with limited electrical service need more fresh air to meet ASHRAE Std. 62, system 8 may be ideal.

Loads Removed (Tons) From The Building Sensible Latent Loads Removed (Tons) From The Fresh Air Sensible Latent Thermal Energy Gas Consumption Therms/hr @ Design Additional Equipment Used Non-Desiccant Tons In System After System
21
38.6
1
DW HW Bldg.
5.7 0 -12.6 -5.4
7.2
-12.6 0.0
38.6 18.1
2
DW HW Bldg.
5.7 0 -18.1 -10.9
7.5
0.0
38.6
EC
3
DW HW Bldg.
5.7 0 -5.4
1.8
7.6
0.0
5.4
38.6
EC
4
DW HW Bldg.
5.7 0 -13.5 -6.7
13.5 7.6 0.0
38.6 18.0 25.2 5.7

DW HW CC Bldg.
30.6 7.7
0.0
38.6 18.0 25.2 5.7

DW HW CC Bldg.
36.0 9.8 0.0
EC
38.6 18.0 25.2 5.7 7.6
31.5
7
DW HW CC Bldg.
0.0
EC
23.8
8
DW HW EC Bldg.
6.3 0 -9.0
13.5
7.6
0.0
9.0
Figure 1 - Capacity comparison of 100% OSA systems
22
30% Outside Air Systems

Conventional rooftop packaged equipment has difficulty removing moisture loads when the proportion of fresh air increases above 15%. These system layouts show how desiccant systems can be configured to air condition a building which needs a high proportion of outside air.
n the previous section, we discussed 100% outside air systems. In those cases, desiccant systems have impressive advantages because there is so much moisture to be removed from incoming air during the summer. That same summer moisture load can also adversely affect conventional systems with as little as 15% outside air. When the proportion of outside air rises to 30%, conventional cooling-only systems have real difficulty controlling temperature, because so much of their capacity is being used to remove moisture, So when a building or a system needs more than 15% outside air, engineers often use a single desiccant system to replace one of the several rooftop units on the building. The desiccant system easily handles 30% outside air, so the other rooftops can either use much less outside air, or perhaps none at all, allowing them to cool air more efficiently.
ALL-DESICCANT SYSTEMS FOR 30% OSA

System diagrams 9, 10 and 11 show all-desiccant systems for 30% outside air. But each diagram shows different alternatives for removing the sensible heat created by dehumidification. System 9 uses exhaust air energy recovery. Also, the exhaust air is pre-cooled by evaporation before being used in the heat exchanger. By using both exhaust recovery and indirect evaporation, system 9 delivers air to the building at 73F, even at peak design conditions. System 10, by comparison, delivers air to the building at a temperature of 83. The supply temperature is higher, because system 10 uses warmer, more humid outside air for post-cooling rather than the relatively cool and comparatively dry exhaust air from the building. System 11 delivers the supply air at an even higher temperature88F. This is because there is neither evaporative cooling nor exhaust energy recovery for the post-cooling heat exchanger. Note that all three systems deliver the supply air at a very dry condition of 49 gr./lb. Consequently all of these systems remove the entire moisture load from the ventilation air, and they can also remove 103 lbs of water vapor per hour from the building itself. Note also that systems 9,10 and 11 do not contain any conventional cooling. So they provide cooling and dehumidification using very little electrical power.
ISSUES FOR 30% OUTSIDE AIR SYSTEMS

As in the all-outside air systems, the fundamental issue remains: how to remove the sensible heat produced when the desiccant removes moisture from the air? A heat exchanger follows the desiccant wheel, but on the other side of the heat exchanger, the engineer can chose to use either outside air or return air from the building. And that air can be used "as-is", or it can be cooled with an evaporative pad. Following the heat exchanger on the supply air side, the engineer can remove heat with a conventional cooling coil. Or the warm air can be sent directly to the building, where other systems may have extra sensible capacity since they no longer need to remove moisture. In this section, we will examine pro's and cons of each approach. These example use a system with 3,000 cfm of outside air, and 7,000 cfm of return air, rather than one which draws all 10,000 cfm from the outside.
23
30% OSA With Exhaust Recovery

150
Post-cooling by indirect evaporation into exhaust air

System Can Remove
Internal
G
EC
Supply Air 73, 49gr
A GC B E
A
Lbs/hr -------103 -------219
C B
DW
D
HW
E F
32
D
150
Tons 1.8 9.1 3.6 19.3
Total
A
B
75 65 7,000
C
77 83 10,000
D
106 49 10,000
E
73 49 10,000
F
75 65 BLDG.
G
65 82 3,000
83 123 3,000
System 9 - 30% outside air, with exhaust air and indirect evaporation used for post-cooling.
30% OSA - No Exhaust Recovery

150
Post-cooling by indirect evaporation into outside air

System Can Remove
Internal
F G
EC
Supply Air 83, 49gr
A GC B E
Tons (7.2) 9.15 (5.4) 19.3
Lbs/hr -------103 -------219
A B
D
150
C
DW
D
HW
E
32
Total
A
B
75 65 7,000
C
77 83 10,000
D
106 49 10,000
E
83 49 10,000
F
82 123 3,000
G
77 133 3,000
83 123 3,000
System 10 - 30% outside air, with outside air and indirect evaporation used for post-cooling.

150
F
Post-cooling by Heat Exchanger Only
System Can Remove
Internal
Supply Air 88, 49gr
A C B
Tons (11.7) 9.1 (9.9) 19.3
Lbs/hr -------103 -------219
A B
E C
DW
D
150
D
HW
E
32
Total
A
B
75 65 7,000
C
77 83 10,000
D
106 49 10,000
E
88 49 10,000
F
82 123 3,000
83 123 3,000
System 11 - 30% outside air, with outside air used for post-cooling without evaporative cooling.
24

150
G
System Can Remove
Internal
Supply Air 55, 49gr
A C B
Tons 18.0 9.1 20.0 19.3
Lbs/hr -------103 -------219
A B
F C
DW
D
150
D
HW
E
CC
F
32
Total
A
B
75 65 7,000
C
77 83 10,000
D
106 49 10,000
E
88 49 10,000
F
55 49 10,000
G
82 123 3,000
83 123 3,000
System 12 - 30% outside air, with conventional assist for post-cooling.

30% OSA - Dry The OSA Only
150

System Can Remove
Supply Air 55, 60gr
A E D
A
Lbs/hr -------32 -------141
DW
F B
HW
Internal
Tons 18.0 2.8 20.2 12.4
D
CC
F
32
B
150
E A
Total
B
154 47 3,000
C
97 47 3,000
D
82 60 10,000
E
75 65 7,000
F
55 60 10,000
83 123 3,000
System 13 - 30% outside air, with desiccant on the outside air only, and using conventional assist for post-cooling
HYBRID SYSTEMS FOR 30% OSA

Diagrams 12 and 13 show hybrid systems which use conventional cooling coils and either compressor-based or gas cooling to deliver the supply air to the building at a traditional temperature of 55F. System 12 uses a desiccant wheel to dry the mixed return air and outside air. In contrast, system 13 uses a much smaller desiccant wheel to dry only the outside air. Consequently, system 13 is less expensive to install, and less expensive to operate. On the other hand, system 12 has three times the moisture removal capacity because it dries the entire supply air stream. Both systems can remove the same amount of sensible heat from the building18 tons. Unlike systems 9, 10 and 11, these systems can provide all the needed temperature and humidity control for a small commercial building. So they are especially useful for smaller buildings or areas within buildings where a single system is the most economical and practical alternative.
COMPARING 30% OSA DESICCANT SYSTEMS

Looking at the first column of figure 8, one can quickly see the difference between the desiccant-only and the hybrid systems. The all-desiccant systems remove very little, if any, sensible heat from the building. Only system 9 removes a very small 1.8 tons of sensible heat load, and systems 10 and 11 actually add sensible heat load to the building. But looking at the latent load capacity in the first column, one can also see that every system removes all the moisture from the 30% outside air, and can still remove additional moisture loads from inside the building. All of these systems have enough moisture removal capacity to allow the building owner to reset the humidity to a lower-than-traditional level, and to ensure that the level will be maintained even in extremely humid conditions. That capacity would be useful, for instance, in laboratory research buildings, where constant humidity is important for consistent research results, and where large amounts of fresh air must be brought into the building to replace air exhausted through chemical fume hoods.
25
Loads Removed (Tons) From The Building Sensible Latent
Loads Removed (Tons) From The Supply Air Sensible Latent
Thermal Energy Gas Consumption Therms/hr @ Design
Additional Equipment Used Non-Desiccant Tons In System After System
EC
1.8
DW HW
9.1
19.3 3.6 4.0 0.0
16.5
Building
EC
19.3 9.1 4.0 -5.4 0.0 0 -7.2
25.1
bk
DW HW
Building
29.3 19.3
bl
DW HW
9.1 0 -11.7 -9.9
4.0 0.0
Building
G
29.3 19.3 4.0 0.0
18.0
20.0 9.1
bm
DW
HW
0
CC
Building
18.0
20.2 2.8
24.0 12.4 2.2 0.0
bn
DW
HW CC
Building
Figure 2 - Capacity comparison of 30% OSA systems

Another difference between desiccant-only and hybrid systems is their respective installed costs. The desiccant-only systems cost less, because they have fewer components. So if a building has sufficient additional conventional systems to remove the building's sensible heat loads, the lowest-cost solution for additional outside air would be to install a desiccant-only system. However, if the building has no supplemental sensible heat removal equipment, a hybrid system is probably the best choice for adding more ventilation air. In summary, the owner and the design engineer would be well-advised to investigate the use of desiccant systems whenever one or more of the following circumstances applies to the project: Need for more than 15% outside air. (e.g.: to meet codes based on ASHRAE Standard 62-89) Higher than normal inside moisture loads. (e.g.: food processing buildings) Need for lower-than-conventional humidity control level. (e.g.: research, biomedical buildings and electronic assembly) Humidity cannot be allowed to swing more than 2% rh. (e.g.: museums and research labs) Electrical power service to a building is limited. (e.g.: retrofits to add ventilation air) Duct work must be kept dry to prevent fungal growth. (e.g.: hospitals and medical office buildings) Warm temperatures with low humidity is preferred to cold, saturated environments. (e.g.: nursing homes, movie theatres and conference rooms)
Chapter 5 - Components Of Desiccant Systems
27
CHAPTER 5 COMPONENTS OF DESICCANT SYSTEMS
Desiccant System Hardware

Mechanically, desiccant systems are rather simple. By examining each component in turn, the reader can understand what must be done in design and maintenance to ensure minimum cost and maximum reliability.
rom the outside, commercial desiccant systems look like conventional rooftop packaged equipment. That's because the system enclosures are essentially identical to conventional equipment. Additionally, most commercial desiccant systems are hybrids combining desiccant components with conventional or gas cooling equipment. So there are may components of desiccant systems which will be familiar to owners and designers of commercial buildings. Therefore, we will discuss the components which may be less familiar because they are more specific to desiccant systems, including: Desiccant wheel assemblies Reactivation heaters Heat exchangers for post-cooling Indirect evaporative post-coolers Filtration requirements Control components
Reactivation Heater Moist Reactivation Air
Humid Process Air
Dry Process Air to the HVAC System
Desiccant wheels are made as single wheels, or as wheel sections supported by a spoke-and rim assembly
DESICCANT WHEEL ASSEMBLIES

Desiccant wheel assemblies consist of "core material", which contains the desiccant, a wheel support structure, a drive system and a set of air seals on both faces of the wheel to prevent air from leaking from the moist reactivation to the dry process air stream. Desiccant core material The desiccant material is coated, impregnated or formed in place on a support matrix that looks like the corrugated board used to make cardboard boxes. The material is not, of course, cardboard, since it must withstand soaking and heating to temperatures between 130 and 250F six times every hour. Typically, the basic material which forms the support matrix is a mix of different fibres including glass,
The geometry of core material in desiccant wheels varies according to manufacturer. Both sinusoidal and hexagonal air passages are used in commercial equipment.
28
ceramic binders and high-temperature plastics. And in one case, the corrugated material is an aluminum alloy. Each desiccant wheel manufacturer has a somewhat different process for making core material, and each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages. But in all cases, the core material is very durable. It resists temperature and moisture extremes and is quite fault-tolerant. Manufacturers warranties vary widely, but apart from what the manufacturers will actually guarantee, field experience shows that desiccant core material lasts for well over 5 years, and cases of over 20 years of continuous operation are not uncommon. For all practical purposes the owner can think of the desiccant wheel as being equal to, or better than a compressor in terms of longevity and reliability. Many manufacturers offer a choice of desiccants for loading into the core material. And in recent years, much research has been invested in developing advanced desiccant materials which have sorption characteristics which are better for different applications. In commercial applications, the desiccant materials are usually adsorbents like silica gel, activated alumina and molecular sieves rather than absorbents, such as lithium chloride. An AD-sorbent is like a ceramic sponge. It has a limited capacity for water vapor, usually 18 to 22% of its own weight. Adsorbents are very durable and can be designed to attract moisture at specific relative humidities, so they can be "tuned" for particular applications. AB-sorbents, by contrast, hold far more water vapor, but are more sensitive to oversaturation, so they are usually used for industrial applications where their great capacity is an advantage and their reduced fault-tolerance is less of a disadvantage. Lithium chloride is an example of an AB-sorbent desiccant, and it was used in early commercial desiccant systems with mixed results. The material performed well when properly reactivated, but when reactivation heat was lost, the salt migrated out of the wheel as a liquid, reducing capacity and softening the wheel itself. Large commercial systems no longer use lithium chloride, although one manufacturer of small systems uses low-cost, disposable lithium chloride/ paper-based wheels rather than the semi-ceramic materials used by most competitors. In that smaller equipment, the manufacturer suggests periodic replacement of the wheel. The more common AD-sorbent materials used in desiccant wheels are like fine powders. Such small particles present a great deal of surface area to air flowing through the core material. The desiccant is coated onto the core material or formed in-place through chemical reactions so that it is bound tightly to its support structure. The desiccant lasts about as long as the core materialbetween 5 and 20 years. Each manufacturer can provide performance data for equipment over the life of a desiccant wheel. Generally there is some loss of desiccant capacity over timeon the order of 15% over 5 years. Most manufacturers rate the performance of the desiccant equipment at the midpoint of the life of
Smaller wheels are made in one piece Larger wheels are made in sections for strength
the desiccant wheel. Usually, the rating is conservative. The only things that commonly shorten the life of the core material and the desiccant are sticky particulates such as tobacco smoke. Like a cooling coil, a desiccant wheel can become clogged by fibrous dust, bird feathers, insects, etc. Consequently, the inlets of the process and reactivation air streams are always equipped with filters. Tobacco smoke, which is much too small to be trapped by coarse filters, will clog some of the pores in the desiccant material, reducing its moisture adsorption capacity. However, tests conducted in government laboratories have shown that even at smoke concentrations significantly greater than dedicated smoke lounges, the reduction in desiccant capacity is less than 15% over five years. Desiccant wheel assemblies vary mechanically between manufacturers and between different wheel diameters. In smaller wheels, typically below 5 ft. in diameter, the desiccant wheel is a monolithic structurethe core material is
29
Compressible seals are virtually air-tight, but will need replacement about every five years.
Desiccant wheels are driven from their periphery, so they can be rotated by small drive motors.
formed in the shape of a wheel, and a round casing at its perimeter protects its edges. Above 5 ft. in diameter, the core material may need more support internally, so the core material is cut into sections and inserted into a spoke-andrim assembly, supported in a frame by a hub and bearing assembly at its center. The advantage of a monolithic wheel is it's convenience for replacement; as a single unit, the wheel can be easily rolled into and out of the unit . In contrast, the advantage of the spoke-and-rim design is its great strength, which is useful for large wheels where the weight of the water in the desiccant places considerable load on the core material. In commercial systems, the wheel is rotated at speeds which vary by manufacturer, but are generally between 6 rph and 20 rph. The drive system consists of a motor which turns a drive belt or chain at the perimeter of the wheel. By driving the wheel from the rim rather than at the center hub, mechanical advantage is increased substantially, so very little
power is needed to drive even the largest wheels. For example, a 12 ft. diameter wheel can easily be turned by a 1/2 hp motor. Each manufacturer has a different arrangement for tensioning the drive belt and providing sufficient friction between belt and wheel to rotate the wheel with a full load of water. Over 10 years, these drive belts and chains can break or slip. So most manufacturers provide rotation fault detectors to signal the operator if the desiccant wheel is not rotating properlya fact that may not be evident by casual observation since normal wheel rotation is so slow (one revolution every 6 minutes). The air seals at the edge of the desiccant wheel and which separate the process from the reactivation air can affect desiccant equipment performance. If air leaks around the wheel, or if humid reactivation air leaks into the dry process air, then the equipment capacity is reduced. There are two strategies used by equipment manufacturers for seals. The first uses flexible strips of rubber or other elastomer to "wipe" across the surface of the wheel lightly. Air pressure from fans keeps these strips tight against the wheel face. The advantage of such seals is low friction and low cost. These rarely need replacement, and they do not stress the wheel drive system with a high friction load. The disadvantage is that they allow some leakage, and if fans and seal supports are not located carefully, such seals can leak significant amounts of air. The alternate seal strategy uses compressible bulb seals which press against the face of the wheel. Their advantage is air tightnessmost can resist leaks at pressure differentials across the seals of 6" WC. But they cost more than wiper seals, they create a larger friction load on the drive system, and wear out more quickly than wiper seals. Essentially, compressible seals gain a significant performance advantage in return for a somewhat greater maintenance cost.
Flexible rubber sheeting or extrusion which rides lightly on the wheel face
Wiper seals have the advantage of low wear and long life.
30
Reactivation
Process
Direct-fired natural gas reactivation heaters are over 90% efficient, so they are often used on larger units
A temperature controller can vary reactivation energy as the moisture load reduces, to avoid waste.
heat reclaim coils and hot water or steam coils fed from boilers. Industrial desiccant system use all of these sources. But in general, natural gas heaters allow an owner to save between 50 and 75% of the cost of reactivating the desiccant compared to other means. Consequently, as a matter of practical economics, gas heaters are the heaters of choice for nearly all commercial desiccant system installations. There are two basic types of natural gas heaters used in commercial desiccant systems: direct-fired and indirect-fired gas burners. Direct-fired heaters burn natural gas directly into the reactivation air stream. This allows 90 to 92% heating efficiency, so it is the equipment of choice for many desiccant systems, particularly for larger units. Not all systems are equipped with direct-fired burners, however, because there are different advantages to indirect-fired burners. Indirect-fired burners burn the natural gas outside the reactivation air stream, and the combustion heat is transferred to the reactivation air through a heat exchanger. Since a heat exchanger comes between the flame and the reactivation air stream heating efficiency is reduced to 50-70% compared to the 92% efficiency of direct fired burners. So operational costs of indirect-fired burners are slightly higher. However, using a heat exchanger reduces the maximum temperature of the reactivation air. A direct-fired burner produces temperatures of 1300F. If the air is not mixed well with the combustion gases, the desiccant wheel and/or the air seals can be scorched. With an indirect-fired burner, those potential problems are eliminated. Also, some desiccant units use small gas-fired boilers which circulate water through heating coils for both reactivation and for winter heating. That strategy has advantages in first cost. In winter, there is seldom a need for desiccant reactivation. One boiler can serve both heating and reactivation needs through coils rather than with separate gas heaters.
Gas-fired boilers are less efficient than direct-fired burners, but can provide heating for both reactivation and supply air, minimizing first costs.
The rotor casing, called the "cassette" by some manufacturers, is an important part of the desiccant wheel assembly for two reasons. First, it provides the support structure for the seals. The volume of air leakage can depend on casing stiffness. Secondly, the cassette provides structural support for the wheel itself. If the casing is weak or crooked, the wheel may not rotate properly, or may leak air during rotation. Consequently, desiccant equipment manufacturers tend to invest more design and materials in the frame than what one might otherwise assume is necessary to support a lightweight, slowly-rotating wheel. The net result of those investments is assured equipment capacity, longer life and very low maintenance expense compared to the vapor compression components of conventional systems. Reactivation heaters As seen in previous chapters, desiccant system recover heat from the process air stream to use in reactivation. But that heat is usually less than 20% of the total energy needed for reactivation. Other heat sources are always needed. These can include electric resistance heaters, solar hot water coils,
31
Cool, Incoming Reactivation Air
Hot Process Air
Sensible heat recovery wheels are sometimes used as postcoolers. They are controllable and highly efficient.
Reactivation heater modulation The heating capacity of the reactivation burners is usually controlled, so that no more energy is used for reactivation that is necessary to remove the moisture from the desiccant. That energy requirement varies in direct proportion to the changes in moisture load. As the moisture load on the desiccant wheel increases, more heat must be added to the reactivation air to remove the moisture. One method of reactivation energy modulation maintains a constant "reactivation-leaving" air temperature. A temperature controller is mounted in the reactivation air leaving the desiccant wheel. If the temperature of that air falls, more moisture is being pulled off the wheel, so more heat should be added to the reactivation air before it enters the desiccant wheel. Conversely, if the reactivation-leaving air temperature rises, it means there is less moisture being pulled from the wheel, so less heat is needed in reactivation.
Heat pipes also serve as post-coolers when low maintenance is preferred to high heat exchange efficiency
stream flows across one side of the plates, and the other air stream flows across the other side of the plates. The hotter air stream heats the cooler one through the plates. In addition to having the virtue of low cost, for all practical purposes, plate-type exchangers separate the two air streams, so leakage is unlikely. On the other hand, their efficiency is a function of their surface area, so even minimally-efficient plate exchangers tend to be rather large, adding size to the overall desiccant system. Heat wheels Heat wheels are the highest in cost, but also have the highest heat exchange efficiency. (Between 80 and 95%) Heat wheels look very much like desiccant wheels. They are made of fluted media. And the media is held in a cassette assembly similar to desiccant wheels. But where desiccant wheels are optimized for moving moisture, heat wheels are optimized for moving heat. Heat exchange efficiency is a function of wheel rotation speed. Specifically, where desiccant wheels rotate at 6 to 10 revolutions per HOUR, heat wheels rotate at 10 to 20 revolutions per MINUTE. Heat wheels are also much more compact than plate exchangers, occupying a length of perhaps 11" in the direction of air flow compared to several feet for plate exchangers. Also, the high heat exchange efficiency translates directly into reduced cost for cooling downstream. More heat is moved to reactivation, so less heat must be removed from process, reducing the size, cost and complexity of any remaining conventional cooling equipment. Additionally, the designer can modulate the cooling effect of the heat wheel by changing its speed.
POST -COOLING HEAT EXCHANGERS

Most commercial desiccant systems include a heat exchanger mounted after the desiccant wheel to transfer sensible heat from the process air to the reactivation air stream. There are three common types of heat exchangers used in this location: plate-type, heat wheels and heat pipes. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Plate-type heat exchangers Plate-type heat exchangers, often called "air-to-air" exchangers, are the lowest in cost, and the lowest in heat exchange efficiency. (On the order of 40 to 65%) These are made of thin sheets of metal or plastic, arranged so that one air
32
Filtration requirements for desiccant systems are simple, but easy access and regular replacement are essential for proper performance.
Adding an evaporative pad to the cool side of the heat exchanger allows cooling without adding water vapor to the supply air
process air stream. And there is no practical way to control the heat exchange capacity of a heat pipe other than a relatively costly and complex air bypass system. Heat pipes and heat wheels are the two most popular postcooling heat exchangers for desiccant systems. Customer preference determines which type is provided by the manufacturer on larger systems. In smaller, more standardized systems, either one or the other is built into the system. However, not all desiccant systems include heat exchangers. In some applications such as supermarkets and ice rinks, the extra supply air heat is an advantage. And in other cases when conventional cooling is provided as part of the system, it may be more cost-effective to add a bit of capacity to the conventional cooling equipment rather than pay for the cost of an additional heat exchanger.
However, in spite of these significant advantages, not all desiccant systems use heat wheels. Such equipment costs more than other types of heat exchangers, it requires some maintenance attention, and it does not entirely separate the humid reactivation air from the dry process air. None of these limitations have prevented heat wheels from being a popular form of post-cooling heat exchanger for desiccants. Heat pipes Heat pipes are smaller and less expensive than heat wheels, and somewhat less efficient in terms of heat exchange (55 to 75% efficient). Heat pipe exchangers look like conventional cooling coils, with one end of the coil in the hot air stream and the other end in the cool air stream. A divider plate in the coil separates the air streams. Heat pipes have the useful advantages of compactness and design flexibility. They occupy between 4 and 8 inches in the direction of air flow, depending on how many rows of pipes are included in the assembly. Also, the heat pipes need not cover the entire face of the process air outlet. This is because the temperature of the air leaving the process sector of the wheel varies according to how far the wheel has rotated away from the reactivation sector. That is to say, as the wheel leaves the reactivation sector, it is quite hot, and it looses heat as it rotates through the process sector. So heat pipes can be arranged to capture the hottest part of the process air, and allow the cooler air to bypass around the heat pipe array. This saves cost without making major sacrifices in heat exchange efficiency. Also, the heat pipe requires no maintenance other than occasional cleaning. These advantages are balanced by the increased conventional cooling capacity needed to remove remaining heat from the
EVAPORATIVE POST -COOLERS

In addition to heat exchangers, desiccant systems often include evaporative coolers to remove heat produced by dehumidification. In these devices, air is forced through a wetted contact media. As the air picks up moisture from the media, its temperature drops because its sensible heat is used to evaporate the moisture. The air is then more humid, but cooler. Evaporative cooling is adiabatic, that is to say, the air is cooled without the addition of external energy. So the only electrical power required for cooling is used by the water pump (less than 1/8 hp) and by the fans which push the air through the evaporative pad. Consequently, the energy and first-cost advantages of evaporative cooling are significant. In spite of the obvious advantages of evaporative coolers, they are not always used in desiccant systems. They require
33
attention to water quality, and need controls or maintenance to ensure that water pipes do not freeze in winter climates. Also, as with heat exchangers, it may be more cost-effective to add conventional cooling capacity rather than investing in the cost of installing another system component. In large, built-up desiccant systems such as those used on high-rise buildings or fresh air for laboratories and hospitals, cooling tower water is often used to post-cool the process air. Where a cooling tower is already an assumption in the overall building design, such a strategy can save substantial conventional cooling capacity at nearly negligible installed cost and no incremental maintenance cost. But if a cooling tower is not part of the system assumptions, as in the case of low-rise commercial construction, it is not common to add one simply for desiccant post-cooling. Cooling tower maintenance issues usually make such a design less desirable from a small-building owner's perspective.
An alarm or fault indicator is tripped if the desiccant wheel is not rotating. Also, manufacturers often provide controls inside the system to modulate reactivation energy in response to changes in moisture load, as previously described in the reactivation heater section. Manufacturers generally believe It would be unwise and uneconomical for the design engineer to perform these functions in an external control system or in a central building automation system. Dehumidification capacity controls Controlling dehumidification capacity is often a shared responsibility between equipment manufacturer and the control subcontractor. There are three common methods of controlling dehumidification capacity: Variable air bypass (close-tolerances)
FILTRATION
Filters are an important component of desiccant systems, as they are in conventional systems. Like conventional systems, the filtration need not be extremeit must simply be there. That is to say, the process and reactivation air must be filtered to prevent the desiccant wheel and heat exchangers from clogging with gross particulates like feathers, insects and grass clippings. But unless the building needs extra filtration, as in the case of hospitals and industrial processes, a conventional 30% disposable pleated filter is quite adequate to protect system components.
Reactivation energy modulation (moderate tolerances) On-off reactivation control (loose tolerances) Each of these methods is effective, depending on the degree of precision needed for the humidity control level in the building. Variable process air bypass The most precise method of controlling humidity requires a bypass air duct and variable-position dampers for the face of the desiccant wheel and for the bypass duct. In this arrangement, when the humidity in the building rises above the setpoint, the bypass damper closes and the face damper opens, allowing more air to flow through the desiccant wheel. Then when the humidity control level is satisfied, the bypass damper opens to allow more air to flow past the desiccant wheel so the building is not over-dried.
CONTROLS
As in conventional systems, controls for desiccant systems are a mixture of components provided by the manufacturer and the control subcontractor. We will divide the discussion into two sectionscontrols needed for internal system operation, and external controls needed to instruct the equipment to provide a particular supply air temperature and humidity. Internal controls Inside the system, the equipment manufacturer generally provides controls to ensure, as a minimum, that: The reactivation burner does not ignite if there is no reactivation air flow. The reactivation fan continues to operate for a short period after the reactivation burner has turned off to allow the burner to cool down. The reactivation burner is shut down if the air temperature entering or leaving the desiccant wheel is excessive, and a fault indicator tripped accordingly.
A process air bypass system provides the most precise control, at the expense of some mechanical complexity
Reactivation Air
Process Air
Supply Air
Bypass
34
Reactivation Air
Process Air
This scheme has the advantage of low cost and mechanical simplicity. On the other hand, the control system must have lag-time built in so that the heater does not over-respond to a rise in humidity. For example, if the humidistat in the building calls for more dehumidification, but does not immediately see a fall in humidity, it may continue to call for more dehumidification long after the heater input has been increased. Then the dehumidifier may "overshoot" the desired control level because it is still being fed with extra reactivation heat. These problems can be avoided by locating the humidistat near the supply air outlet of the system, so that changes do not take long to be sensed by the humidistat. Also, a stepfunction can be built into the control, so that the humidistat calls for a small increment of extra heat, then waits for one wheel rotation before calling for additional heat. Winter operations add one additional consideration to reactivation modulation as a means of control. When supply air flows through the wheel without reactivation, moisture will build up in the desiccant wheel. Excess moisture supports fungal growth within the core material. In springtime, as the humidistat calls for dehumidification, the warm, humid wheel can give off odors reminiscent of dirty laundry until the heat kills microbial growth accumulated through the winter. But this problem can be easily avoided by periodically rotating and reactivating the desiccant wheel through any season when humidity is too low for the humidistat to call for dehumidification. If this wheel rotation and reactivation is performed once every eight hours for ten minutes, the problem will not occur in the spring. Manufacturers may or may not include this feature in their internal controls. So the owner and design engineer should be aware of the issue when dehumidifier capacity control is accomplished by a central energy management or by a building automation system. On-Off reactivation control This method is a variation on the modulating reactivation heat scheme. Instead of modulating the reactivation heat according to the moisture load, the heaters are simply turned on or off according to control signals from a humidistat mounted in the building. The on-off method is even lower in cost than the modulated reactivation method, and gives good results in many situations. For example, when the desiccant system is mounted on the incoming ventilation air, the large mass of return air buffers the effect of changes in outside humidity. The results can be nearly as precise as face-and-bypass dampers, for much less cost and complexity. However, the same cautions as used in the reactivation modulation method apply: the wheel should be rotated and reactivated several times a day even in periods of low humidity to avoid microbial growth during inactive seasons.
Modulating reactivation energy provides simpler capacity control, in return for some reduced precision.
This method is preferred for industrial process applications, where control within 1 or 2% rh is essential. Bypass control is used less frequently in commercial buildings, partly because it costs more and partly because the dampers and linkages require some degree of maintenance attention. Finally, many commercial buildings do not need precision control. When control within 5 or 7%rh is sufficient to meet the needs of the building and it's internal operations, other methods of control are quite adequate. Reactivation energy modulation In this scheme, a humidistat varies the amount of heat produced by the reactivation heaters. When the building rises above setpoint, the controller adds heat to the reactivation air stream, which provides more drying power for the desiccant. When the humidity in the building falls below setpoint, the reactivation heat is reduced, so the desiccant does not remove as much moisture.
On-off reactivation energy control is the lowest cost alternative and is the least precise, but often adequate for commercial buildings where lag-time is not an issue.
Reactivation Air
Process Air
35
Temperature controls Many desiccant systems cool the air with conventional vapor compression cooling systems, or with gas cooling systems. Such systems are well-understood, as are the methods through which these are controlled. For purposes of this guide, we will discuss methods of controlling direct evaporative and indirect evaporative coolers, which may be less familiar to building owners and design engineers. As described earlier, air leaves a desiccant wheel warm and dry. In most cases, the air is too warm to send directly to the building, so some sensible heat must be removed. Then, if sensible heat is to be removed from the building as well, the dry air must be cooled below the control condition in the occupied space. There are three stages of cooling available with evaporative cooling and heat exchangers. Stage one - heat exchanger alone Part of this cooling can be accomplished with the heat exchanger which, in many cases, follows the desiccant wheel. In most desiccant systems, this heat exchanger is not controlled. That is to say, it cools the air as much as possible, regardless of the thermostat setting in the building, because there is always a need to remove heat. However, if the desiccant system is mounted on the ventilation air, there may be a need for winter heat, and with that need, there will be a need to control the heating effect produced by the desiccant wheel. In those cases, the warm air from the desiccant wheel can bypass the post-cooling heat exchanger when the space needs heat. Or, if the heat exchanger is a heat wheel, the wheel speed can be modulated in proportion to the heating requirement. If the wheel rotates slowly, most of the heat remains in the supply air. When the wheel rotates more quickly, the supply air is cooled. Stage two - indirect evaporative cooling When the heat exchanger by itself does not cool the supply air sufficiently, the next stage of cooling is an evaporative cooling pad located on the cold side (i.e.: the reactivation side) of the heat exchanger. As the temperature in the building rises above set point, the control system turns on the water feed to the evaporative cooling pad. The cooling air is reduced in temperature, so more heat can be removed from the supply air.
Stage three - direct evaporative cooling When the building does not require humidity control, or when the building must kept cool and humid, as in the case of greenhouses, livestock barns or vegetable storage, additional sensible heat can be removed by direct evaporative cooling after the heat exchanger. The warm air is passed through an evaporative cooling pad, where it picks up moisture and therefore becomes cooler. This can bring the temperature of the supply air low enough to remove sensible heat from the building, rather than simply bring the air to the same temperature as the building. Direct evaporative cooling has the advantages of low first cost and low operating cost. In return for those advantages, the water supply system and the evaporative pad and drain pan must be maintained regularly, and the supply air is essentially saturated. Consequently the system is no longer a dehumidification system, although such systems can be very useful for maintaining low temperatures and high humidities as described above. When the supply air must remain dry, the third stage of cooling can be accomplished by either conventional vapor-compression or gas cooling systems. Final cooling - Vapor compression or gas cooling Designing conventional cooling systems to follow desiccant wheels is quite straightforward, and in many cases, a desiccant system will include such systems on-board, so the package is a complete comfort-conditioning system. The third stage of cooling will operate for relatively few hours during the year, and will be operating at only partial capacity for much of the rest of the year. So, if the post-cooler is not equipped with capacity modulation, the building could suffer from poor temperature control and spikes in electrical power demand as the post-cooler turned on and off rapidly when outdoor temperatures and moisture levels are moderate. When post-cooling is provided by the desiccant system manufacturer, one can usually assume that the post-cooling will include capacity control. But the point is worth checking, and definitely requires attention when the controls contractor supplies temperature and humidity controls rather than the manufacturer of the desiccant system.
Chapter 6 - Installation Design Tips
37
CHAPTER 6 INSTALLATION DESIGN TIPS
Designing Desiccant System Installations

This information serves as a useful review for engineers, and as a guide to reviewing construction drawings and specifications for end users.
DUCT WORK
Duct work must be air tight. Although this instruction seems obvious, the point needs somewhat more emphasis in desiccant systems than in conventional systems. Return air duct work must be air tight, to avoid losing dehumidification capacity. Capacity is wasted when the fan draws in un-treated air through cracks on the negative-pressure side of the system. An engineer or owner is well-advised to specify that return air duct work for any desiccant system be sealed and tested for gross air leaks. As the required humidity control level goes lower, it becomes even more important to avoid air leaks in the return ducts. When an all-desiccant system uses evaporative cooling pads for final cooling of the supply air, the air is likely to be saturated for many hours during the cooling season. If the supply air duct work immediately following the pad has an inside lining of insulation, the system could eventually develop the same fungal growth that is so common in conventional systems downstream of cooling coils. To avoid that problem, the duct work immediately downstream of the cooling system should be lined with a washable, non-porous surface. Also, access doors should be located in the duct work to allow for cleaning of that lining. These guidelines would not be out of place for conventional systems as well as desiccant systems. Manufacturers of all types of rooftop equipment often profess astonishment that design engineers and owners who would never tolerate piping leaks sometimes accept that air duct work will leak as a matter of course. Avoiding air leaks is a very low-cost way to
eliminate problems. Tight duct work also improves comfort and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual operating costs. Such great benefits are gained at the minor cost of a few rolls of duct sealer and a few hours of application labor at time of construction.
CONTROLS + SENSORS
Perhaps the most important point about controls and sensors is to be clear about who supplies which items, and to define who is responsible for installation. In general, the desiccant system manufacturer can provide the internal system controls more economically than the controls contractor. Likewise, the external sensors are usually less costly when purchased through the controls contractor. In any case, the engineer is advised to rely on the desiccant system manufacturer for advice on controls and sensors which will work properly with the equipment. Controls contractors are not always familiar with desiccant systems, and when they are, they may make unwarranted assumptions based on industrial desiccant system practices. Sensor location can affect the success of any system installation, and desiccant systems are no different. For example, if a humidistat is located near the supply air discharge, the system may not control humidity properly if there is a large moisture load in the occupied space. This is because the humidistat would never see the effect of the internal load, so the desiccant would cease drying prematurely. So, as with any system, locate the sensors wherever one needs to control the temperature and moisture conditions most closely.
38
COOLING COIL DRAIN PANS + TRAPS

In many hybrid desiccant systems, the conventional cooling coils are designed to run dry. That is to say, the desiccant wheel will remove the moisture, so it does not condense out on a cooling coil. However, there are still times when a cooling coil will condense moisture temporarily. For example, on system start-up, before the systems comes to full equilibrium with the loads, the coil may condense water. Or if the desiccant wheel does not have full reactivation due to heater malfunction or other infrequent event, the coil may condense moisture from the air. Consequently, experienced engineers and owners specify that cooling coils should have sloped drain pans with condensate piping and full-sized P-traps to carry water out of the system and onto the roof or into a condensate drain. The P-trap must be long enough so it contains a column of water larger than the pressure rating of the system fan. Otherwise, water will not stay in the trap, and air will leak into or out of the system through the condensate drains.
side a large building's internal gas distribution system, the engineer must be sure that the pressure will be high enough when the gas reaches the desiccant unit. Water Some desiccant systems use evaporative coolers instead of conventional cooling coils. Part of the normal maintenance for evaporative coolers is flushing the pads and the water sump every two months during the cooling season. Also, the water supply system must be drained before winter. The maintenance technician will be grateful to the engineer who makes these tasks easy to accomplish through proper fixtures on the water supply piping. Figure 1 shows the needed fixtures. Starting from the top of the diagram, the shut-off valve stops water flow to the system when the technician needs to flush the pads and the sump. Then the hose bib, mounted just below the shutoff valve, provides the technician with the flow needed to flush the pads. Below the roof line, the hose bib allows the technician to drain the water supply piping before winter. Modem connections Larger desiccant systems, particularly those installed on supermarkets, are often equipped with modems, so that their operation can be monitored remotely. When telecom wires are brought to the unit, some cautions apply.
UTILITIES
Most modern desiccant systems are designed for singlepoint connection of each utility. But for each service, there are some items that the engineer should consider when designing the installation. Electrical power The main disconnect for the desiccant system cuts all power to the unit, which is an important safety feature when the unit is being serviced. However, the service technician usually needs some source of power for work lights, drills, power wrenches, etc. So if the manufacturer does not provide a separate service power circuit for lights and power tools, the service technicians will be grateful for such a separate connection on the roof, but outside the unit. The technician's alternative is to connect a long extension cord down off the roof, through a roof access door and into the nearest building power socketa major time-waster. Natural gas The supply air and reactivation air heaters in desiccant systems are designed to work within a specific range of gas pressures. If the pressure is above or below the specified range, the system will shut down on various types of faults. Often the desiccant system uses enough natural gas to justify a separate supply line to the roof at elevated pressure (2 to 5 psi). Other times, different appliances or heaters will need more gas, and the desiccant unit will be supplied with lower-pressure gas from a secondary line. In both cases, the engineer should be sure that the appropriate gas pressure regulators are installed to provide the specified pressure at the unitnot 300 ft. away from the unit. In other words, if the desiccant system is supplied with gas from the main, it will need a pressure regulator installed near the unit to be sure the gas pressure is not too high. And if a smaller desiccant unit is supplied with gas from in-
Figure 1. Water supply piping for units which use evaporative pads for cooling
To Evaporative Pads
Shut-off Valve Hose Bib For Flushing Pads During Summer Roof
Hose Bib For Draining The System Before Winter
Shut-off Valve
Water Supply
39
Figure 2. Clearances for removing key components
Filter
Evaporative Pad
Plan View
Access Frequency
Reactivation Air
Every 2 months Once in 10 years
Process Air
Cooling Coil Evaporative Pad
Filter
Heat Wheel
Desiccant Wheel
Telecom signals can be distorted by high power electrical cables. It is tempting to run all wires to the unit through a common electrical conduit, in order to minimize roof penetrations. When that is done, the telecom wire must be shielded cable, to avoid line distortion from the power wire. Alternatively, modem wire can be brought to the unit through the supply or return air ducts. In that case, local fire codes must be consulted to determine what type of cable insulation in acceptable for use in duct work. For example, PVC insulation may not be acceptable because it could generate chlorine gas if it should catch fire.
Filters Filters must be changed every three months, or sooner in dusty environments. Check the width of the recommended filters to be certain they can be removed and replaced without being blocked by a nearby structure. Desiccant wheel (or heat wheel) If the wheel is designed as a single piece, it will have to be rolled out of the unit if it ever needs replacement. Check the diameter of the wheel, and allow 1.5 to 2 times this distance beside the unit to roll it out if needed. Cooling coils If a cooling coil needs replacement, it generally is pulled from the side of the unit. Check the width of the longest coil, and allow 1.5 to 2 times that length for replacement clearance. Evaporative pads If the desiccant system uses evaporative pads rather than cooling coils, the technician must be able to remove the pads for flushing every two months. These are usually removed through the side of the unit. Check the width of the widest piece of pad material, and allow 1.5 to 2 times that distance beside the unit for removal clearance.
CLEARANCE AROUND THE UNIT

Most commercial desiccant systems are mounted on rooftops, so clearances do not present the same challenges as in a mechanical room. However, it is useful to review the items which may have to be removed from the system at some point, in order to ensure that they are not blocked by other mechanical equipment, or by piping. The engineer should check the manufacturer's equipment arrangement drawing to be certain of how much space must be allowed next to the unit to provide access to key components.
Chapter 7 - Maintenance
41
CHAPTER 7 MAINTENANCE
Maintaining Desiccant Systems

Commercial desiccant systems are very much like air handlers. The maintenance they require is quite modest compared to conventional vapor compression cooling systems.
ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE
Like any other mechanical equipment, desiccant systems must be maintained. But the good news is that these systems are very simple, and easy to service. Owners also report that the easiest way to optimize operation and to avoid problems is for the service technician to really understand the system. With that understanding, maintenance practices will be obvious, and therefore there is a better chance that they will be accomplished regularly.
absorb the heat from the burners, so the unit shuts down because the temperature in reactivation is too high as the air enters the wheel and too low as the air leaves the wheel. The bottom line is simple: replace all inlet air filters at least every three months...and more often if the outside air is exceptionally dusty. This simple, low-cost measure will eliminate more than 90% of problems with desiccant systems. One point which is not obvious to most technicians is that a desiccant system has TWO air inlets, not one. A desiccant system has incoming air on the supply side, but also a second air stream for reactivation. Both sets of inlet filters need quarterly replacement.
FILTERS
Desiccant systems require only low-cost, 30% pleated filters. However, if the three keys to success in Real Estate are: "location, locations, location", then the three keys to reliable desiccant systems are: "Filters, filters, filters." If filters are not changed, air flow will be reduced. Then occupants will complain about being too hot or too cold. According to desiccant system manufacturers, owners and independent service companies, 90% of "problems" reported by occupants of desiccant-equipped buildings can be traced to clogged filters. Clogged filters on the supply, or process air side cause the thermal discomfort described above, because with less air flowing through the building, the system removes less heat. Clogged filters on the reactivation side cause two problems. First, there is not enough air to remove the moisture from the desiccant wheel, so system performance is reduced. Then as filters load still further, there is not enough air to
DESICCANT WHEEL MAINTENANCE

Assuming the unit is equipped with an ADsorbent wheel (Silica gel, Titanium silicate, Activated alumina, etc.), there is no regular maintenance needed for the wheel material. The only exception would be if the filters had not been wellmaintained, so that dust built up on the wheel face. In that event, the wheel face should be vacuumed with a soft brush to remove excess particulate. Desiccant wheel drive assembly The drive belt around the desiccant wheel needs to be tight enough to turn the wheel, but not so tight as to put an excessive load on the drive motor shaft bearings. Most desiccant units are equipped with automatic tensioning devices, but belt tension should be checked at least twice a year, to be certain the belt is neither too slack, nor too tight.
42
Replace Reactivation inlet filters every 2-3 months
Lubricate Bearings Check Drive Belt Tension Every 2-3 months Check Belt Tension Every 2-3 months Change Speed Reducer Oil In the spring Lubricate Support Bearings in the spring
Reactivation Air
Flush Pads + Sump Add Water Treatment Pellets Every 2-3 months Connect Water Supply In the spring Drain Water Piping In the fall
Process Air
Replace Process inlet filters every 2-3 months Lubricate Bearings Check Drive Belt Tension Every 2-3 months
Check Belt Tension + Bolt Tightness Every 2-3 months Change Speed Reducer Oil In the spring Lubricate Support Bearings In the spring and fall
Tighten Electrical Connections Every Spring
Manufacturers have specific belt tension checking procedures, but "too tight" usually means the belt cannot be deflected more than 2" by hand pressure. "Too loose" means that the belt slips as the wheel turns. On larger wheels, there is often a speed reducer between the drive motor and belt drive pulley. The oil in these speed reducers needs to be changed once a year. If this is not done, the speed reducer gears eventually wear out so that the speed reducer must be replaced in two or three years instead of 10 to 15 years. Changing the oil takes between 10 minutes and 25 minutes in most desiccant units. Desiccant wheel support bearings Because desiccant wheels rotate so slowly, the bearings which support the wheel need only be greased once a year. Smaller single-piece wheels are sometimes supported by rollers under the wheel. Each of these rollers has a bearing lubrication point. Other wheels, particularly larger wheels, are supported by a central hub, with either internal or outboard bearings, which need periodic lubrication. Lubrication once a year is usually sufficient. But since the bearings in the system fans need quarterly lubrication, most owners check and lubricate the desiccant wheel bearings when fan bearings are greased.
means the fan bearings are running hot. Too loose means the belts are flapping as the fan turns at full speed. The belts should also be inspected for excessive wear. Excessive wear would include cracks in the rubber, or frayed spots on the belt. Belts usually need replacement every three to five years unless they are overtightened, in which case they wear more quickly. Fan bearings On belt-driven fans, bearings should be lubricated every three months.
MAINTAINING YOUR SERVICE TECHNICIAN

The most important maintenance element is the service technician. If that individual understands the system, it will be maintained. If the service tech does not understand the system, it will be ignored and will cause difficulties. Owners say they train technicians to think about desiccant systems as "air handlers, ....with a few extra components". With that basic paradigm, a technician has an easy way to think abut the system, and has a mental structure for retaining other information about the systems. An ideal time to "maintain" the technician's knowledge is during spring and fall semiannual maintenance. In the spring, the technician should review the system flow diagram to be reminded of what happens to the air at each point during normal summer operation. Then again in the fall, the technician should review the flow diagram for winter operation, so that normal and abnormal operation will be clear.
FAN MAINTENANCE
Fan belts If the desiccant system is large enough to use belt-driven fans, the fan belts must be checked once every three months to make sure they are not too tight or too loose. Too tight
43
Every 2-3 Months
Spring
Maintenance Tasks
General
Replace inlet filters for both supply and reactivation air Tighten all electrical connections Check tension and condition of all drive belts Lubricate bearings Review system flow diagram and maintenance checklists Change oil in speed reducer Flush evaporative pads and sump
Cooling Components
Desiccant Wheel and Fans
Replenish water treatment pellets Open or close water supply piping Check heat wheel connector tightness and belt tension Change oil in speed reducer
Such a simple review will be sufficient to refresh the technician's memory as to what the system does, and why. That knowledge, which takes less than ten minutes to "maintain" every six months, saves hours or even days of confusion when problems arise.
COOLING COMPONENT MAINTENANCE

If the system is a hybrid, that is to say it includes conventional cooling or gas cooling coils, the technician will likely be familiar with typical maintenance procedures. But some desiccant systems include two components which may be less familiar. For that reason, we address them here. Evaporative Cooling Pads & Sumps Evaporative cooling components are very simple devices, so they need very little maintenance. Four items stand out as important: Flush the pads and sump every two months Replenish water treatment tablets (if used) every two months Drain the water supply piping in the fall Refill the water supply piping in the spring
Once again, if inlet air filters are replaced at least every three months, there is less maintenance required for the evaporative coolers. The pads and sump need to be flushed with a hose, because they collect particulate that escapes the filters. So if filters are clean and functioning properly, there will be little particulate to flush from the media and from the sump, reducing the time needed for normal maintenance. Tablets containing algicide and water softeners can be used extend the life of the pad material to more than 5 years by preventing microbiological growth, and by precipitating minerals so the evaporative media stays clear. New tablets are simply dropped into the sump as needed, usually every two months during the cooling season. In most North American locations, there is a risk of freezing during winter months. Therefore, the piping that carries water to the system should be drained in the fall, and reopened in the spring. Engineers who design evaporative cooling systems in the mountain states and in the southwest of the US are fully aware of this simple semiannual practice. Those new to designing evaporative cooling systems should keep in mind the piping recommendations outlined in chapter 6.
Fall
44
Specifically, to avoid the future frustration of the maintenance technician, the engineer should equip the water supply line with hose bibs mounted in tandem with shut-off valvesboth above and below the roof line. Above the roofline, the hose bib mounted between shut-off valves will allow for easy flushing and for draining the sediment from the sump. Below the roofline, a hose bib mounted above a shut-off valve allows easy draining of the water supply piping before freezing weather. Heat wheels On smaller systems, the heat wheel needs very little attention if filters are changed every two months. Specifically, the wheel only needs a semiannual inspection to ensure the air seals remain in place and that the drive belt tension is sufficient to turn the wheel, but not so tight as to stress the motor bearings. Larger systems often have hub-and-spoke assemblies. In those cases, the heat wheel should be examined every six months to be certain that the bolts which hold the assembly together remain tight. Over a period of years, the relatively fast rotation of large wheels place a considerable load on the hub-spoke-rim connectors. If they loosen, damage can occur. So it is important to keep the wheel structural assembly tight.
Also, as with desiccant wheels, the drive belt around the heat wheel needs to be tight enough to turn the wheel, but not so tight as to put an excessive load on the drive motor shaft bearings. Also, belt tension should be checked at least quarterly, to be certain the belt is neither too slack, nor too tight. Manufacturers have specific belt tension checking procedures, but "too tight" usually means the belt cannot be deflected more than 2" by hand pressure. "Too loose" means that the belt slips as the wheel turns. Also on larger heat wheels, there is a speed reducer between the drive motor and belt drive pulley. The oil in these speed reducers needs to be changed once a year.
ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS
Experienced maintenance technicians make a habit of tightening electrical connections at least once a year, just to be certain that normal vibration has not loosened an important wire or relay. Loose connections can create difficult-todiagnose faults in any mechanical system, but such problems can be easily avoided by annual tightening. Once again, investing 20 minutes may avoid wasted dollars and expensive hours by avoiding electrical faults at awkward times.
Chapter 8 - Evaluating Applications
45
CHAPTER 8 EVALUATING APPLICATIONS
Six Application Criteria

Prudent owners and pragmatic engineers naturally ask: which buildings would benefit from desiccants, and which buildings would be better off with conventional technology?
eciding whether desiccant systems apply to a given building requires an understanding of the differing needs of each application, combined with the energy economics specific to the site. But there are six circumstances when desiccant systems may have advantages over competing technology. When two or more of these circumstances apply, the owner would be well-advised to investigate desiccants.
Other examples of economic benefits to low humidity are as diverse as the last half-century of desiccant technology. For a quick rule-of-thumb, desiccants are worth evaluating if the required humidity control level is below a 50F dew point (below 55 gr/lb). Said another way: when a problem occurs during the summer, but not during the winter, humidity may be a contributing factor, so desiccants may be economically advantageous.
1. ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO LOW HUMIDITY

Desiccants are exceptionally effective at maintaining low humidity. So when there is an economic benefit to such humidity control, desiccants are likely to be the best choice. The classic, extreme example from industry is lithium battery production. Above 6% rh, pure lithium produces enough hydrogen gas to ignite, producing an explosion. Clearly, if a manufacturing company is making lithium batteries, there is a strong economic incentive to maintaining low humidity to avoid explosions. A more common and less extreme example is the Supermarket, which avoids excess energy cost by avoiding frost formation on refrigerated display cases and on frozen food. At typical store operating margins of 1.5% of sales, the $25,000 annual energy cost reduction produced by a desiccant system is the bottom-line equivalent of selling an additional $1.7 million worth of groceries each year. A more subtle example is the loading dock of a refrigerated warehouse. Worker`s compensation insurance costs are high, because of injuries from slips and falls. Keeping humidity low avoids ice and condensation on floors. That is very advantageous economically, as well as being the right thing to do from a purely human perspective.
2. HIGH MOISTURE LOADS WITH LOW SENSIBLE HEAT LOADS

Because desiccants convert a moisture load to a sensible heat load, they do well where the moisture loads are high and the sensible heat loads are small. Supermarkets provide a good example. A great deal of moisture must be removed from the store to avoid frosting on low-temperature coils and frozen product. At the same time, so much excess cold air spills out of frozen food display cases so the store must be heated to maintain a comfortable shopping environment. In other words, the moisture load is high while the cooling load is low... or even non-existent. Another example is a movie theatre. There are no lights, computers or machinery to generate sensible heat, the walls are well-insulated and there are no windows. Also, and the patrons are sedentary, keeping their heat production to an absolute minimum. But each person breathes in and out, releasing large amounts of water vapor into the air, and the fresh air needed to ventilate the theatre carries very large amounts of water vaporparticularly in the evening, when theatres are most active. Once again, the moisture loads are high compared to the sensible cooling loads.
46
One easy way to compare the moisture load to the sensible heat load is to calculate the sensible heat ratio (SHR) for the proposed system. The SHR is equal to the sensible heat load divided by the total heat load. For example, if the sensible heat load totals 700 Btu/h, and the total load consists of that 700 Btu/h of sensible heat, plus 300 Btu/h or latent heat (moisture), the sensible heat ratio is:
Sensible Heat Load
fies the larger requirement for fresh air as needs of the occupants change over time. Adding a desiccant system is often much less costly and troublesome than re-working all existing HVAC systems to provide additional fresh air. As a rule of thumb, desiccant systems begin to have advantages over conventional systems when the proportion of fresh air in a given system goes above 15%.
700 Btu/h 700 Btu/h + 300Btu/h
4. EXHAUST AIR AVAILABLE FOR POST COOLING AND WINTER HEATING

= 0.7 SHR
Latent Heat Load Sensible Heat Load
The cost of post-cooling the air as it leaves the wheel can favor or limit the applicability of desiccant systems. When exhaust air can be brought back to the desiccant system at little or no incremental cost, the desiccant alternative gains an advantage over conventional systems. For example, a hospital HVAC system may use 100% outside air to meet local ventilation codes. If the exhaust air can be evaporatively cooled and re-used through a heat exchanger to cool the warm process air, there may be no need for any conventional post-cooling equipment. The overall installed cost of such a system might well be less expensive than the conventional alternative, and the operating cost would be considerably lower. In cooler climates, the advantage is even greater, because the exhaust air can heat the incoming fresh air during winter months, as well as cooling the fresh, dry air during humid months. In many buildings, returning the air to the desiccant unit is not practical, either because there is little exhaust air, or because the system operates for very few hours a day, or because air must be exhausted far away from the desiccant system. But with the increased amounts of ventilation air required by building codes which adopt ASHRAE Standard 62-89, it is more likely that air can be exhausted through the desiccant system. That is because it is less likely that all the air can be exhausted from any other point, and because standard commercial HVAC design practice usually includes return duct work to bring air back to recirculate through the unit. In such cases, there is no incremental cost to exhausting air at the desiccant system. As a quick rule of thumbif the system design already includes return air duct work, the situation is neutral; neither desiccant nor conventional systems has an advantage. But if recovering energy from the exhaust can reduce the installation cost by down-sizing equipment, then desiccant systems have an advantage. Conversely, if the desiccant system costs more than conventional, and if the payback time is over 3 to 5 years, then conventional systems have a decided advantage. In many ways, this criterion is linked to the need for fresh air. If fresh air is a large proportion of the supply air, chances are good that recovering energy from exhaust air will pay off quickly, and may even reduce the installed cost of a desiccant system to less than a conventional system.
In other words 70% of the total load is sensible heat and 30% of the total load is latent heat (moisture). For a quick rule of thumb: when a system or a building has a sensible heat ratio (SHR) of less than 0.8, the application may or may not benefit from desiccants. But if the SHR is below 0.7, the application is almost certain to gain from desiccants.
3. NEED FOR MORE FRESH AIR

ASHRAE Standard 62 now calls for 15 cfm of fresh air per person in most buildings. That standard has been incorporated into all three of the model building codes used in the US, so it begins to have the force of law. So many buildings need much more ventilation air than in the past. Retail buildings are especially affected. Where a 100,000 sq.ft. store would formerly require only 4,000 cfm of outside air, codes based on ASHRAE Standard 62 now demand that a store be provided with 0.3 cfm per square foot. So ventilation air flow jumps from 4,000 to 30,000 cfm to meet new codes. When such large amounts of fresh air are needed, conventional equipment is simply not designed to deal with the increased load. For example, major manufacturers of rooftop packaged air conditioning equipment estimate that when the proportion of outside air goes above 15% of the total supply air, conventional equipment has problems. When the fresh air goes above 20% of the total, equipment will regularly fail to maintain the specified temperature levels in a traditional, low-rise commercial building. For this reason, engineers sometimes combine a desiccantbased make-up air unit with conventional equipment on the same building. The desiccant system handles the majority of the total fresh air requirement, and the conventional units can then operate quite comfortably with less than 10% fresh air without violating ventilation codes. Similarly, engineers often use a desiccant system to add more fresh air to an existing building. The desiccant system satis-
47
FAVORS
Desiccant Systems
The Economic Benefit Of Low Humidity 35F
Vapor Compression
Required Dew Point

50F 65F
High Economic Benefit
Low Economic Benefit
A High Moisture Load Compared To The Sensible Heat Load 0.6
Sensible Heat Ratio

1.0
0.8
High Moisture Load
Low Moisture Load
A Need For More Fresh Air
Outside Air As A Percent Of Supply Air

100% 15% 0%
Supply Air Is 100% Outside Air
Supply Air is 100% Recirculated Air
The Installed Cost Of Using Exhaust Air For Post-Cooling
Exhaust Air Availability

Obviously Yes
Energy Recovery Reduces Net Installation Cost
No Extra Cost
Probably Not
Incremental Cost Payback Over Three Years
Site-Specific Utility Costs
Local Utility Costs

$20/kw
High Demand Charge
$8 per kw
$0/kw
Low Demand Charge
30
Low Summer Gas Cost
60 per 100,000 Btu
90
High Summer Gas Cost
The Economic Benefit Of Dry Duct Work High Health Risk

High Costs If Duct Work Is Infected
Need For Dry Duct Work

Unknown Low Health Risk
Zero Costs If Duct Work Is Infected
Figure 1. Graphic evaluation template for desiccant applications
48
Operating Room - Shreveport, LA

Favors Desiccant Systems Favors Vapor Compression
Criteria for an operating room strongly favor the use of desiccant systems. This is especially true if the building has "free steam" during summer months when boilers must operate at very low capacity
Dew Point SHR % Fresh Air Exhaust Post-Cool Demand Summer Gas
Dry Duct Work
Figure 2. Graphic evaluation of a Louisiana operating room
5. LOW THERMAL ENERGY COST PLUS HIGH ELECTRICAL DEMAND CHARGES

Geography plays an important role for desiccant technology in unexpected ways. One might expect that desiccants, with their ability to remove moisture efficiently, would be especially advantageous in humid Miami, and less so in dry Detroit. But that is not the case. In Miami, electrical costs are fairly low compared to Detroit, where electrical demand charges are rather high. Also; sensible heat loads are high and continuous in Miami, where on an annual basis, sensible heat loads are lower in Detroit. Clearly, "relatively low thermal energy cost " and "rather high electrical demand charges" are nebulous. It is difficult to establish better, more specific numerical guidelines for this criterion. For example, if a hospital pays $.90/therm for gas, one would not assume the thermal energy cost is particularly cheap. But if that hospital must operate boilers during the summer for sterilization, then the excess boiler capacity is essentially free when used for desiccant reactivation. In another example, an existing building may have a very low power cost. But if adding more outside air to meet IAQ needs requires more fans and refrigerant compressors, the increased demand may lift the total power cost into another rate category. Also, adding power is not always easy or cheap, and may require changes in the basic service and electrical distribution system. Such changes may turn a low-cost location into a high-cost location because of expenses other than power usage charges.
For a necessarily simplified rule of thumb , inexpensive thermal energy might be defined as a summertime cost of less than $0.60 per therm (100,000 Btu). An electrical demand charge over $9.00/kw would usually be considered a "high" demand charge.
6. ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO DRY DUCT WORK

Fungus and bacteria are present throughout all indoor environments, and are especially prevalent in air distribution duct work, where high humidity and accumulated dust are common. But in many cases, the rate of such microbial growth is very low. In other cases where growth is more rapid and extensive, it may not matter. For example, in many air conditioned structures in humid climates, a distinctive musty odor is common throughout the building. But until occupants complain, there is no economic incentive for owners to change the system. In other buildings, the economic consequences of microbial growth are too important to ignore. Hospital operating rooms, for example, place open wounds directly under air discharge ducts. In such cases, complying with the recommendations of ASHRAE Standard 62 to maintain relative humidity in duct work below 70% is much more important than it might be for a local pizza parlor or a post office. Consequently, for buildings like hospitals, nursing homes, medical office buildings and schools, the economic consequences
49
Low-rise Office Building

Criteria for a low-budget commercial office building are generally less favorable for desiccants. However, If there was a need to add more fresh air, or if the building had problems with fungal infestation, these two criteria would be more favorable for desiccant systems. Then the owner should look at the technical alternatives more closely.
Dry Duct Work
Figure 3. Graphic evaluation of a Spec office building
of fungal infection of duct work are focusing more attention on using desiccant systems to keep duct work dry to minimize microbial growth in the HVAC system. A rule of thumb is difficult to formulate in this area, because there are so many unknowns and a wide variety of opinions among experts. But one might suppose that if an owner or engineer believes that amount at risk in future legal costs is higher than the incremental cost of a desiccant-assisted system, it might be prudent to evaluate the hybrid desiccant option in more detail.
ings, but in new construction, it would usually be accessible at low incremental cost. The availability of cheap steam heat during summer months improves economics, and the need to keep duct work dry is typical of a hospital environment. So the desiccant alternative is strongly favored. Spec office building - Houston, Texas Figure 3 shows the results of a graphic assessment for a low-budget, spec office building to be built on Houston, TX. In this case, desiccants do not look promising. There is no apparent economic benefit to the developer from maintaining a low humidity level. The building contains office equipment and is only two stories high, so the internal heat generation and sensible heat loads through the building envelope are quite high, and the moisture loads are rather low by comparison. There is no need for a great deal of fresh air, and there is very little exhaust air available for desiccant post-cooling. Utility costs do not especially favor desiccants, and there is normally no need for dry duct work. Consequently, a desiccant system is not likely to be advantageous in this case, unless the building was experiencing problems with IAQ and needed to keep duct work dry, or to add fresh air. Supermarkets in Detroit and Miami Figure 4 compares supermarkets in two locations. In both cases, desiccants make sense economically, but the benefits are greater in Detroit, because of local utility cost differences.
EVALUATION EXAMPLES
Figures 2,3 and 4 provide examples of how these criteria can help decide whether desiccants deserve more study. Unfortunately, no such simple analysis can provide instant, comprehensive answers. But by looking briefly at these six key variables, an engineer can make a better prediction of what answers are likely to result from a more rigorous analysis. Some examples are discussed below. Hospital operating room, Shreveport, Louisiana Figure 2 shows an operating room. There is a need for a low dew point, and failing to provide it may mean the hospital loses revenue as surgeons take patients elsewhere for more complex procedures. Because the operating room often has an all-outside air system, the latent loads are quite high. Also, the need for fresh air is extreme. Exhaust air is generally not available for desiccant post-cooling in existing build-
50
Supermarket - Detroit
For a Supermarket in Detroit, nearly all the criteria favor desiccant systems.
Dry Duct Work
Supermarket - Miami
In Miami, local utility costs are less favorable for desiccant system. This means that while desiccant systems are still popular, the economics are not as favorable as in Detroit.
Dry Duct Work
Figure 4. Graphic comparison of supermarkets in Miami and in Detroit
Limitations of the graphic evaluation This graphic technique has limited utility, because different owners weight the importance of each variable differently. For example, if a hospital has had difficulty with contaminated duct work, it may not matter what other factors favor a conventional system... the desiccant system will be chosen regardless of other considerations. Likewise, in the Supermarket industry, some owners have decided that regardless of site utility cost, they will use desiccant systems because of harder-to-quantify benefits such as customer time-in-the-store, since modern desiccant systems for Supermarkets are essentially the same cost as conventional equipment. In the opinion of some owners in that industry, the cost of analysis exceeds any cost saving that might result from a site-by-site decision process.
And in the case of an Ice Arena, the need for a low dew point makes all economics very clear. Regardless of what other considerations might exist at a given site, if the rink must operate during summer months, then the desiccant alternative is an obvious choice. Given those all-important weighting considerations, design engineers and building owners will probably find that such graphic evaluation is most useful as a "first cut", rather than as the final decision-maker.
Chapter 9 - Designing With Desiccant Systems
51
CHAPTER 9 DESIGNING WITH DESICCANT SYSTEMS
Optimizing Systems With Desiccants

Desiccant systems have unique strengths and limitations. How can the engineer take advantage of the strengths of desiccant systems at each stage in the process of designing a system?
In abstract terms, designing HVAC systems with desiccant components the same as designing with conventional components. The engineer determines the purpose of the project, sets the control levels and design points, calculates the loads and lays out the equipment and controls which will accomplish the purpose of the project. But as the engineer translates those abstract principles into actual hardware, it will be helpful to understand how the unique strengths of desiccant systems can help the designer at each stage.
be better stated as: "Keep the customers comfortable while keeping the humidity as low as possible." As another example, the purpose of a hospital operating room system is not really to maintain 72F 2F. Its purpose is more likely to be: "to keep the surgical staff comfortable while keeping the patient safe from airborne infection." In fact, the HVAC system has many purposes, and the engineer must attempt to satisfy all of them. As the engineer and owner discuss purposes, they might keep in mind that desiccant systems can be very cost-effective when needs of the project include either fresh air, or humidity control. Desiccants are unique in their ability to control humidity at virtually any level, so when a project has any humidity-related aspect, the owner and engineer should be aware of that capability. Desiccants are also exceptionally well-suited to providing low-cost ventilation air, so when the purpose of the project involves either indoor air quality or large amounts of exhaust air, desiccants allow the engineer to achieve results which are not economical with other technologies. But beyond the specific capabilities of desiccants compared to other technologies. as this stage of the project, the owner can help the engineer and equipment supplier to met the real need by defining the purpose of the project in terms of desired results. For example, in the case of the operating room system, the owner's purposes could be stated most helpfully as: "Make the surgical staff more comfortable working at our hospital than at others in the area. Do that while complying with all code requirements, and without interrupting surgical operations."
SYSTEM DESIGN STEPS

Steps in designing any HVAC system include: 1. Define the purpose of the project 2. Establish the control levels and tolerances which, if met, will accomplish the purpose of the project 3. Determine the extreme weather conditions and calculate the loads 4. Select, size and position components 5. Select and locate controls Defining the purpose of the project In most cases, an engineer can assume that the primary purpose of a project is to keep the occupants comfortable. But the key to minimizing the costs of a system is to understand the OTHER purposes as well. For example, in the case of supermarkets, the HVAC system and the moisture level it produces in the store will dramatically affect the cost of operating the display case refrigeration systems. So the purpose of a supermarket system could
52
ASHRAE Sensible Heat Design Data Underestimates The Moisture Load

75
Dew Point (F)
65
55 Humidity Observations Which Exceed The 1% ASHRAE Sensible Design
July 5th
July 10th
July 15th
July 20th
July 25th
July 30th
ASHRAE Research Project 754-RP has shown that sensible heat load design data in the 1993 Handbook of Fundamentals does not reflect the true moisture load. This graph of Atlanta dew points during July, 1990 shows that the ASHRAE 1% sensible design condition (65F dew point) is exceeded for more than 80% of the time during the summer.
In practical terms, this means that unless engineers are aware of this discrepancy, they may greatly under-design the dehumidification capacity of an HVAC system.
Atlanta, Georgia ......... July 1990 Weather Data Obtained From National Climatological Data Center
Figure 1. Actual weather data from Atlanta, GA shows that moisture levels are higher than assumed when using peak sensible design data
Understanding that purpose helps the designer how to "weight' the dozens of technical trade-offs that must be made during the project. In this case, the engineer will be less concerned with energy consumption, and more concerned with figuring out what conditions will keep surgeons comfortable. And more concerned with planning a construction schedule with minimal service interruption than figuring out how to save money in piping insulation. While energy consumption and the cost of piping insulation may remain significant, they are much less important to this project than construction speed and understanding the sources of discomfort in cool environments. Establish control levels and tolerances which achieve the purposes of the project With a clear understanding of the purposes of the project, the engineer can proceed to the next step, where he or she must decide what environmental conditions will best achieve the project purpose. No loads or equipment size can be calculated until the control level is set. In this stage, the designer should know that desiccants can achieve and maintain any level of humidity needed, and maintain it within a range of 1% rh if that is necessary or useful. It is also useful to remember that conventional systems often have trouble maintaining temperature and humidity control at the same time. A desiccant system can assist a conventional system by removing the need for that conventional system to control humidity. In other words, desiccants allow the engineer any control level and any tolerance which will help achieve the purposes of the project. Desiccant systems simply remove the control limitations inherent in conventional systems. But knowing that traditional limitations no longer apply is only part of the job at this stage. The more difficult task is deciding what the control levels and the tolerances should be. The engineer and owner must come to common agreement that the control levels selected will achieve the project purpose, because in the final analysis, the engineer's system cannot, for example "make people comfortable". It can only maintain temperature ranges, moisture levels, particulate concentrations and gaseous contamination levels within certain ranges. The owner must decide that those levels will achieve the project purposes. To return to the example of the operating room, the surgeons will be heavily protected by layers of fabric and plastic to prevent transmission of disease to or from the patient on the operating table. So although the ASHRAE comfort chart and hospital construction guidelines would suggest that temperatures between 72 and 75F should be adequate for human comfort, those levels have proven extremely uncomfortable for surgeons. Heavy gowning prevents normal body cooling through evaporation and convection. So to maintain comfort though 2 to 8 hours of strenuous physical labor, the temperature and humidity must be lower. Modern surgical procedures may need temperatures of 62 to 66F with humidity at 50% rh.
53
Moisture Loads vs. Sensible Heat Loads In Outdoor Air

1. The engineer sizes the system for the hottest outdoor temperature, but there are only 29 hours each year that the system must operate at this condition. Even then, the moisture load is greater than the sensible heat load for fresh air. SHR = 0.48
TON-HOURS (Tons x Hours in each BIN)
1200 1000 800 600 400 200
2. When the total load is highest, the temperature is lower, but the moisture load is even higher than it was at the peak sensible design condition SHR = 0.21 3. When the outdoor temperature is equal to the inside condition, no sensible cooling is needed to change the fresh air temperature, but the moisture load remains very high. SHR = 0
92 87 82 77 72 67 62
97 -200 -400 -600 -800
Latent Ton-Hours Sensible Ton-Hours
Assumptions: Air Flow - 1,000 cfm Control Level - 72F, 50% rh Location - New Jersey Weather Data - USAF 88-29
4. The fresh air can now remove sensible heat from the spaceprovided that it's moisture load is removed. Most conventional systems stop cooling when the temperature is this low, which means that moisture builds up, creating uncomfortably high humidity and increasing the risk of fungal growth.
Outdoor Dry Bulb BIN (F)
Figure 2 On an annual basis, moisture removal accounts for more ton-hours than sensible heat loads when treating outside air
The point is that written technical references may conflict. And technical references may lag behind actual surgical practice. So the discussion between owner and engineer needs to include the owner's experience as well as the engineer's experiences and understanding of code requirements. Calculate heat and moisture loads With the control levels defined, the project can proceed to load calculation. But another variable must be defined first: the extreme weather conditions under which the system must maintain the specified conditions. At this stage, it is very important for the engineer to understand the limitations of past ASHRAE references when designing systems which must control humidity. Stated briefly, ASHRAE design data for calculating sensible heat loads is not adequate for calculating peak moisture loads, because moisture load peaks come when sensible temperatures are lower than their peak values. Figure 1 shows how this is true. This difference will be clear to readers of the 1997 edition of the ASHRAE Handbook Of Fundamentals. In that version, the weather extremes are calculated for both moisture and temperature. In earlier editions, only peak temperature values appear. Using older editions temperature values for moisture design would understate the peak moisture loads by 15 to 40%. Readers who may not yet have access to the 1997 Handbook of Fundamentals can obtain proper moisture extreme values for U.S and Canadian locations by requesting the results of ASHRAE research project 754. These results are contained in ASHRAE Transactions 1995, Volume 101, Part 2, in a paper authored by Donald Colliver, Ph.D., P.E., entitled: Determination of the 1%, 2.5% and 5% occurrences of extreme dew point temperatures and mean coincident dry bulb temperatures. Readers who need data for projects in countries other that the U.S and Canada must consult the 1997 Handbook, which contains information for 1600 international locations. Another point which may not be obvious to engineers new to desiccants is that calculating heat and moisture loads separately can be very helpful in designing any system, but maintaining that separation is essential to proper design of desiccant-assisted systems. One of the major advantages of desiccant systems is their ability to remove excess moisture, freeing the conventional system from that task. But to size the desiccant component, one must separate the moisture load from the sensible heat load, sizing the desiccant subsystem for the moisture and the sizing the cooling system to remove the sensible heat loads. This separation is essential even if the desiccant system will remove both temperature and moisture by itself, because within the desiccant system, the required component sizes may vary according to the balance between the two different loads.
54
Moisture Loads & Heat Loads Peak At Different Times Of Day

Moisture Peaks In the Mornings 110 gr.lb.
Figure 3. Moisture loads usually peak at different times of the day than sensible heat loads
Temperature (F) Humidity Ratio (gr.lb.)
100
90
80 F 70 Temperature Peaks In the Afternoon
This approach often leads to placing the desiccant component on the outside air system, because in most cases, the bulk of the moisture load comes from that source. Also, the peak moisture loads often occur when the sensible heat loads are somewhat reduced from their peaks, as shown in figures 2 and 3. When the desiccant wheel is located on the make-up air, it produces the greatest sensible heat during periods of low sensible heat loads from the building envelope. So other systems in the building may well have excess sensible cooling capacity, which reduces the need for sensible cooling capacity within the desiccant system. Another useful principle familiar to desiccant system designers is that the hotter the reactivation air, the smaller the desiccant wheel can be. Drier desiccant can remove more moisture than desiccant which has not been as completely dried. Since drier desiccant removes more moisture, less desiccant is needed for a given moisture load... so the wheel can be smaller. On the other hand, it is quite common to reactivate desiccants with moderate or low temperature air (below200F). Low temperature air can be less costly than high temperature air. For example, the engineer may choose to use lowpressure steam or even compressor-reject heat for reactivation. In some cases, this approach can save operating cost. But in most cases, the size of the desiccant equipment will be larger than if high-temperature reactivation air were used. A larger desiccant wheel may or may not result in highercost equipment, depending on where the load falls in the capacity range of a given piece of equipment. But in general, low-temperature reactivation means lower operating cost, but higher first cost. High-temperature reactivation usually means lower first cost.
12:00 Noon
Midnight
12:00 Noon
Atlanta, Georgia ......... July 1st and 2nd, 1990 Weather Data Obtained From National Climatological Data Center
The benefits of separate calculations are very useful from another perspective: they highlight the sources of each type of load, which has immediate implications for the layout of the system. For example, in a meat-packing plant, the bulk of the annual moisture load comes from the washdown cycle at the end of a shift, and during those few hours, there is no need for humidity control. So rather than sizing a desiccant component to remove the washdown load, it would be less expensive to simply purge the building with outside air during the washdown cycle. Then the desiccant component can be sized for the more modest moisture loads generated during actual meat-packing operations. In an example from commercial buildings, the engineer will often find, on calculating loads separately, that 80% of the moisture load in an office is brought into the building by the make-up air. The immediate implication is that a desiccant system could be used to remove that moisture load, while conventional systems may be better suited to removing the internally-generated sensible heat loads. Select, size and lay out components Each equipment manufacturer has a slightly different approach to sizing systems which include desiccant components. These approaches vary according to the hardware features offered by the manufacturer. But one principle is common to most experienced designers of desiccant systems. find the moisture load, and design the desiccant system to remove it first. Then design the other components which remove the sensible heat loads. This principle results from the fact that the desiccant process converts moisture to sensible heat. So there is not much point in sizing and placing the cooling components until it is clear what sort of sensible heat load may result from removing the moisture load.
COST -EFFECTIVE SYSTEM DESIGNS

At this stage of development of the market for commercial desiccant equipment , there as many different approaches to system design as there are manufacturers. An optimal design for one manufacturers equipment may not be optimal for anothers'. Consequently, the owner and engineer can best optimize a system by speaking with several manufacturers at an early stage, to gain a sense of which type of equipment will be best-suited to the needs of a particular project.
Chapter 10 - Case Histories
55
CHAPTER 10 CASE HISTORIES
Using Desiccants Rather Than Conventional Systems

Each type of building has different functions, site characteristics and utility costs vary and each owner has unique needs. So the reasons for using desiccant systems are different for each application.
1. ICE ARENA
A desiccant system removes moisture from the arena, allowing summertime operation by reducing the ice refrigeration load, and eliminating fog. The system also saves energy, but that benefit is minor compared to increased revenue from year-round operation.
4.TARGETED SUPERMARKET SYSTEM

High humidity in supermarkets causes frost on the cooling coils of refrigerated display cases, and condensation on display case doors. A desiccant system removes excess moisture, which saves operating costs by reducing power consumption of compressors and door heaters.
2. REFRIGERATED WAREHOUSE
The loading docks of refrigerated warehouses are hazardous because of water and ice on the floors. Desiccant units eliminate this hazard, saving the human cost of injuries, while also reducing the cost of workers compensation. Refrigeration costs are also reduced.
5. RESEARCH LAB MAKE-UP AIR

Laboratories must exhaust large amounts of air, which creates a need to condition an equally-large amount of makeup air. Desiccant make-up air systems allowed this building to improve temperature and humidity control, while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual operating costs.
3. HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOMS

Surgeons fill hospitals with patients, which generate revenue. If these key contributors are dissatisfied with their working environment, they take their patients elsewhere. Desiccant systems can solve the comfort problems created by new surgical procedures and health safety precautions.
56
Ice Arena
any ice rinks do not operate during the spring, sum mer and fall. This limits their income potential, be cause the building is idle for so much of the year.
One reason for shutting down during these seasons and forgoing potential revenue is the cost of operating ice refrigeration systems during warm, humid months. During the summer, electrical demand charges are high at the same time that heat loads are at their highest levels, so the refrigeration system is especially costly to operate. Another reason for halting operations is the fog which forms inside the arena during humid months. As the ice sheet cools the air in the building, the humid air reaches saturation, and fog forms above the ice. This leads to poor ice conditions (soft and slow), muggy air and rust-inducing condensation on structures. In recent years, however, many rink operators have found that when the arena is dehumidified, it is practical to operate year-round, which greatly increases revenues. The cost to remove excess moisture varies according to utility rates and system alternatives, but those costs are small compared to the great economic benefit of year-round revenue.
fers heat to the ice, softening the surface and forming puddles which must be frozen by the ice refrigeration system. That freezing must be accomplished through a thick layer of existing ice, so the cooling process is not very efficient, particularly as ice builds up during humid months and outside temperatures rise. In contrast, during winter months heat must be added to the space, because the rink surface over-cools the building. This situation is similarto the situation in supermarkets. The cooling system has excess capacity to remove sensible heat, but does not remove moisture efficiently. In ice rinks, as in supermarkets, efficient dehumidification can increase building revenueand save operational cost at the same time.
THE PURPOSE OF THE SYSTEM & ESTABLISHING CONTROL LEVELS

One might expect that the ideal system would prevent all condensation on the ice surface. But as a practical matter, this is neither necessary nor economical. Such a system would be very large, and cost a great deal to operate. A better goal for the system is to reduce the moisture level enough so the rate of condensation has a negligible effect on the ice refrigeration system. Maintaining the space at a 35F dew point satisfies this goal. The ice sheet is typically held at 25 to 28F, so there will be very little condensation if air is kept at a 35F dew point.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

In a skating rink, a large, cold ice surface is exposed to the relatively humid air inside the building. Moisture continually condenses from the air onto the ice. As it condenses, it trans-
57
Desiccant System for an Ice Rink
150
Supply Air 87, 5gr
System Can Remove or (Add)
A B
131
C
DW
E
32
C B DE
150
Internal
Tons (20.6) 11.6 (17.6) 13.9
Lbs/hr
Total
A
158
B
60 29 8,000
C
62 34 8,500
D
85 5 8,500
E
87 5 8,500
F
92 11 0 2,500
92 11 0 500
Figure 1. Simple desiccant system for an ice arena
A theoretically "ideal" system would maintain the 35F dew point at all times, including periods of peak moisture loading from spectators. But once again, such a system would be prohibitively expensive. An arena filled to it's capacity with many thousands of spectators has a tremendous moisture load due to respiration and the fresh air ventilation. A more economical system will have the air handling capacity needed for the fully-loaded arena, but include only the dehumidification capacity needed to maintain a 35F dew point during periods of "practice/recreational" loading.
the total supply air volume very low. Handling less air reduces the installed cost of the desiccant alternative. Also note the relatively high supply air temperature. In this building, as in supermarkets, there is excess sensible cooling capacity. The ice sheet helps to cool the building, and other cooling systems which borrow from the ice refrigeration system provide additional air cooling. So, the desiccant system does not need a post-cooling system, which lowers overall installation costs. In fact, extra heat is desirable in this application. The arena is kept at 60F, so spectators quickly become uncomfortable. The warm dry air from the desiccant system is distributed across the spectator stands. This air flow pattern both warms the spectators, and avoids problems created when dehumidified air is blown directly at the ice sheet. High velocity dry air would remove ice through sublimation, leaving depressions in the ice surface.
THE BUILDING
This example is adapted from an actual case history described in the ASHRAE transactions (#3747, January 1994, V.100, Pt1). The arena is a multipurpose municipal rink, located near Grand Rapids. MI. The rink surface measures 85 ft. x 200 ft. The rink was not built originally for year-round operation, but it was equipped with two 100 hp refrigeration compressors to cool the brine which freezes the ice sheet. At a 15F suction temperature, the brine system had a COP of 2.2.
FOUR YEARS LATER...

The Rink Manager, Don Cooley, moved to another community, and was hired to build a new rink. He specified a desiccant system for humidity control in the new building, and reports that in both facilities, the desiccant systems have provided the expected benefits. Beyond fog elimination and energy reduction, Cooley reports that the ice surfaces are harder. Hard surfaces are preferred by skaters. A hard surface also lasts longer, reducing the number of interruptions required for ice resurfacing operations. And in general, ice surface is also better because the "mushrooms" formed by condensate dripping from the
DESICCANT SYSTEM
The desiccant system is described by the schematic in figure 1. It delivers 8,500 cfm of air at a dew point of -1 F and a dry bulb temperature of 85F on a design day. That air removes 131 lbs of water vapor per hour from the arena. This illustrates the fact that when the moisture load governs the size of the supply air stream, the deep-drying capacity of the desiccant-dried air allows the engineer to keep
58
Photo of ice rink desiccant system
roof has been eliminated. Equipment maintenance has consisted of quarterly filter changes and annual lubrication of fan and drive bearings.
TIPS AND TRAPS FOR APPLYING DESICCANT SYSTEMS IN ICE RINKS

Engineers and owners can benefit from the experience of desiccant equipment manufacturers in this and in other ice rink installations: Use an enthalpy wheel to reduce the cost of higher fresh air requirements In many parts of the country, the ventilation air required by local codes will be much greater than in this example. This is particularly true when ice surfacing machinery may generate products of combustion inside the building. When large amounts of fresh air are needed, it may be more economical to design the desiccant system as an all-outside air system, and to use an enthalpy heat exchanger to pre-cool and pre-dry the air entering the desiccant wheel. The enthalpy wheel eliminates the need for a vapor-compression pre-cooling system and reduces the first cost of such systems. And in wide open buildings like ice arenas, the cost of return air duct work to bring the exhaust air back to the unit for use in the enthalpy wheel is minimal. Avoid blowing jets of dry air towards the ice surface A focused jet of warm, dry air will erode the ice surface where the air hits the rink. It is good practice to have dry air above the rink surface, because that's where the dry air can do the most good for the ice refrigeration system. But the air should be designed to move at very low velocity if it is directed towards the ice rather than over the spectator stands.
Consider extra small desiccant units to meet peak loads When there is a need for humidity control during infrequent, but critical peak periodssuch as hockey finals in late springit may be more economical to install a second unit rather than increasing the size of the basic air handler to meet the peak load. This avoids the inefficiency of operating a large unit at part-load conditions for most of the year. Consider the risk as well as the benefit of compressor heat recovery Because the ice refrigeration compressors operate almost continuously, there may be some benefits to using their waste heat to pre-heat the desiccant reactivation air. This may reduce the cost of desiccant operation. However, some users have found that the increased piping cost and the corresponding risk of refrigerant leaks reduces the benefits of using waste heat. Also, such low-grade heat is never enough by itself to regenerate the desiccant, so gas burners are still required. Refrigerant heat recovery always increases first cost. Consider renting portable desiccant units to establish cost savings and other benefits Gas-fired, portable desiccant dehumidifiers are available through industrial painting equipment rental firms. This type of equipment is available in air flows of up to 4500 cfm in a single unit. Also, companies which provide building restoration services following floods, fires and disasters frequently rent smaller desiccant dehumidifiers. Portable units can be used for temporary installations in existing buildings, where owners may be unsure about the possible benefits and costs of dehumidification. This avoids the expense of purchasing equipment or making permanent changes to the building in the experimental phase.
59
Refrigerated Warehouse
ne of the largest cost items in the budget of a warehouse is the expense of workers com pensation. Every year, thousands of warehouse workers slip and fall on the ice and water which condenses on the cold floors of the loading docks in front of frozen food storage areas. Frozen product must be moved in large volume, and trucks must be loaded and unloaded at lightening speed to avoid thermal damage which reduces the quality and value of the product. Consequently, fork lift trucks, and motorized pallet jacks move across the confined space of the loading dock at speeds up to 15 m.p.h. When floors are wet and icy, accidents are inevitable at such high speeds.
Moisture also increases the load on the primary warehouse refrigeration system. Because these systems operate at very low suction temperatures and high condensing temperatures, the compressors have to work very hard when moisture loads cause frosting on the cooling coils. Low-temperature refrigeration systems are not efficient dehumidifiers. Once the frost has formed, it must be removed through defrost cycles, which consume still more energy. And defrost cycles reduce cooling capacity in the warehouse, which affects product quality. Removing moisture with desiccants reduces the load on the primary refrigeration system. Also, in most cases, installing a dedicated dehumidification system saves energy, reducing the cost of solving the safety problem.

Loading docks are maintained at low temperatures. This avoids loading the warehouse refrigeration system with warm moist air pulled through doors by the movement of fork lifts and pallet jacks. For example, a typical ice cream warehouse might be maintained at -20F, and it's loading dock maintained at 35F. It follows that any time the weather moisture level is above a 35F dew point, air leaking into the dock area will carry enough moisture to condense on the floor. Also, the floor near the -20 warehouse itself will freeze that condensate, and ice will form on racks near the door inside the storage area. These problems are caused by moist air leaking into the loading dock through gaps between the trucks and the loading dock doors. Although dock doors are equipped with cushion seals, there are always gaps and mismatches between truck and door dimensions.
THE PURPOSE OF THE SYSTEM

The desiccant system has two purposes: first to prevent condensation in order to provide a safer working environment and minimize workers compensation costs. The second purpose is to remove moisture load from the refrigeration system to minimize electrical power costs. There are two ways to stop condensation: dehumidify the air in the dock area, or use air pressure to prevent humid air from infiltrating into the dock area. Somewhat surprisingly, it is generally more energy efficient to dehumidify the dock than to prevent humid air infiltration. To prevent infiltration, dry air must be brought into the dock area, so that air pressure keeps humid air out of the dock area. However, that approach requires constant dehumidification of the incoming air, and for much of the
60
Unless humidity is controlled in the loading dock, ice forms above the doorway inside a frozen food warehouse . Warm, humid air is pulled in at the top of the doorway by the suction created when cold air flows out at the bottom of the door opening.
time, that dehumidification load is greater than the load that would result from air infiltration. Either approach can prevent condensation problems, as long as the system has enough capacity to keep the air dew point below the surface temperature of the floors and walls of the loading dock.
x 30' high. There are 13 truck doors on each dock, and two much larger, automated doors leading from the dock to the warehouse. The loading docks are in line with each other, but separated by a fire stairway and office block, so it was logical to use separate air handling systems for each dock to avoid long duct runs and to avoid penetrating fire walls. To solve the condensation and frosting problems described above, the owner installed two 5,000 cfm desiccant systems.
ESTABLISHING CONTROL LEVELS

To prevent condensation, in theory, one need only control humidity at the dew point to match the floor temperature. In practice, that would mean the air is constantly at or near saturation. Any small temperature fluctuation would cause fog, condensation, and freezing, as well as encouraging microbial growth and maximizing the load on the refrigeration system. To avoid these problems, the system should maintain a control condition of 70% rh at the dock temperature of 35F rather than maintaining near 100% rh. At 70% rh, the air has capacity to absorb moisture from any wet patches that might form in extreme weather conditions. Also, drier is generally betterbecause any reduction in dock humidity reduces the cost of low-temperature refrigeration.
DESICCANT SYSTEM
Each desiccant system pulls 5,000 cfm from the loading dock. The duct work is arranged to draw from directly above the dock doors, where the air is warmest and most humid. The air is dried to a -2F dew point, and distributed along the back wall near the doors to the storage warehouse. There is no fresh air, other than what leaks into the dock through the truck doors. Air leaving the desiccant system has been warmed to 52 by the dehumidification process. The owner decided not to add post-cooling to the desiccant system because there was excess sensible cooling capacity in the dock coolers. In practice, the owner has found that the air is seldom that warm, because the moisture load is usually under the maximum, and because there is quite a bit of mixing with the cooler dock air as the dry air leaves the distribution ducts. However, the warmth of the dry air must be taken into account when calculating energy costs, because its sensible heat must be removed from the air by the dock coolers.
THE BUILDING
This example is adapted from information provided by Shaw's Supermarkets of Brockton, MA. That chain operates a central frozen food warehouse in Wells, Maine. The building was built in the late 80's. It has two refrigerated sections in addition to a very large dry goods section. The refrigerated storage areas are served by separate loading docks. Each loading dock measures 300' long, x 45' wide
61
Refrigerated Loading Dock System
150
Supply Air 52, 5gr
System Can Remove or (Add)
B
Internal
MBtu/h Sensible (91.8) Latent 58.3 Sensible Latent (91.8) 58.3 Tons (7.6) 4.8 (7.6) 4.8 Lbs/hr 55
C
20
A C B
150
DW
Total
A
55
B
50 5 5,000
C
52 5 5,000
D
70 11 3 660
35 22 5,000
Figure 2. A desiccant system for a refrigerated warehouse loading dock
THREE YEARS LATER

According to the Shaw's Energy Manager and the Warehouse Manager, the results of the project were quite positive. The desiccant systems did indeed solve the safety problems and save energy. The equipment manufacturer estimated annual operating savings of $14,000 per year, but the actual savings were larger. The owner measured a net energy cost reduction of over $25,000 in the first year of operation. In addition to the evidence provided by the reduced power bills ,the facility manager could see the energy savings by the fact that the dock coolers needed much fewer defrost cycles. Before desiccant systems, the dock coolers defrosted 4 times each day during the summer. With desiccant systems, defrost cycles reduced to once every three days.
face temperature, compare it to the air relative humidity and switch on the dehumidifiers if condensation is imminent. But the final control system depended instead on dew point sensors alone. The owner had difficulty finding a safe place to install the surface temperature and surface rh sensors, because the surface of interest is the busy dock floor. Dew point sensors are connected to the existing building automation system. The dehumidifiers operate if the dew point is above 28F. Rooftop vs. below-ceiling installation Loading docks generally have ceilings high enough to accommodate desiccant units mounted inside under the roof. The advantage to this arrangement is that the units need not be weather-tight, and there is no need to penetrate the roof for air duct and power connections. However, hanging units high inside a building tends to reduce the maintenance attention they get. Filter maintenance is very important with desiccant units. So if the units are suspended, they should be arranged with catwalks or other external access so belts can be adjusted, wheels replaced and filters changed. Also, moisture will condense in the duct work carrying the warm, humid reactivation air away from the unit unless it is heavily insulated. Regardless of the insulation, it should be made of stainless steel or fiberglass, because condensation would quickly erode conventional galvanized steel ducts on the leaving side of the reactivation circuit. That duct should also be sloped towards the outside or equipped with a lowpoint drain, so no water remains stagnant in the duct.
TIPS & TRAPS FOR APPLYING DESICCANT SYSTEMS IN LOADING DOCKS

Engineers and owners can benefit from the experience of desiccant system manufacturers and current system owners in this application. Suggestions include: Distribute the dry air where it will do the most good The biggest condensation and ice problems occur near the doors which connect the dock to the warehouse. So that is where the dry air should be distributed. Pulling air from above the truck doors sets up a circular flow which sweeps the humid infiltrating air into the desiccant system before it can reach the colder surfaces near the warehouse doors. Control system alternatives This particular installation was originally designed to include condensation controllers. These devices sense the cold sur-
62
Suggested air distribution for the loading dock installation
When units are mounted above the roof, their casings must be heavily insulated so the weather does not heat the dock air as it travels through the desiccant unit. Insulation also helps retard external condensation, which could corrode the unit casing as well as waste the capacity of the dock coolers. Finally, roof-mounted units must be very airtight. If they pull in untreated humid air through leaks in the casing, moisture could condense inside the unit and freeze or drip into the dock through duct work. Consider the risk as well as the benefit of compressor heat recovery Because the warehouse refrigeration compressors operate almost continuously, there may be some benefits to using their waste heat to pre-heat the desiccant reactivation air. This may reduce the cost of desiccant operation. However, some users have found that the piping cost and the risk of refrigerant leaks reduces the benefits of using waste heat. Also, such low-grade heat is never enough by itself to regenerate the desiccant, so gas burners are still required. Refrigerant heat recovery always increases first cost.
Consider renting portable desiccant units to establish cost savings and other benefits Gas-fired, portable desiccant dehumidifiers are available through industrial painting equipment rental firms. This type of equipment is available in air flows of up to 4500 cfm in a single unit. Also, companies which provide building restoration services following floods, fires and disasters frequently rent smaller desiccant units. These units can be used for temporary installations in existing buildings, where owners may be unsure about the possible benefits and costs of dehumidification. This avoids the expense of purchasing capital equipment or making changes to the building in the experimental phase.
63
Hospital Operating Rooms
n recent years, medical cost containment efforts have placed a premium on keeping surgeons happy. Much of the care formerly given in hospitals can be done on an outpatient basis, which leaves a hospital with empty beds. The overhead associated with those empty beds can cause real financial problems for a hospital. Since surgeons fill beds with patients, they play a key role in the profitability of many hospitals. Hospitals tend to be very responsive to their needs. At the same time, surgical techniques have changed radically over the last ten years. New electronic equipment adds heat to the operating room. And the risk of fluid-borne diseases such as AIDS has forced the surgical staff to add protective layers of clothing, which makes them uncomfortably hot. Also, some newer procedures like hip replacements and organ transplants are quite lengthy, so the discomfort and excess perspiration can last for hours. Consequently, operating rooms are cooled to much lower temperatures than in the past. In the early 1980's, it was common to maintain the operating room (OR) at 70 to 72F. Now it is quite common for surgeons to insist on temperatures of 65F or below. At cool temperatures, controlling humidity can be a problem. Hospital construction standards of the U.S. Public Health Service call for maintaining humidity between 30 and 60% in
operating rooms. Older systems have great difficulty achieving that level when the room must be kept at 62 or 65. So humidity rises above the specified leveland above the level recommended by most hospital licensing authorities.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEMS

There are two problems: uncomfortable surgeons and the fact that different procedures call for different temperature and humidity conditions. Surgeon discomfort Surgeons are uncomfortable at high humidity because the body cannot cool itself through normal evaporation. The surgeon may perceive the problem as one of temperature, but in fact, humidity is causing the discomfort when the rh rises close to saturation. In conventional systems, the high relative humidity is caused by the falling temperature. Air leaving a cooling coil is nearly saturated. It's relative humidity is close to 100%. In older conventional systems, the air is reheated, which lowers its relative humidity before the air is delivered to the space. But when the space must be kept very cool, the air cannot be reheated because it must be delivered at a temperature low enough to remove the heat in the space. When a cooling system is overextended, air must be delivered near satu-
64
Photo of the desiccant system, installed on the makeup air inlet for the original operating room HVAC system
rationperhaps as high as 75 or 85% rhto be cold enough to remove the sensible heat load in the operating room. That high humidity causes the discomfort and noncompliance problems. In addition, it creates an environment which favors the growth of infectious bacteria and fungi in the duct work. Different conditions for different procedures The hospital cannot afford to have idle operating rooms. They represent a considerable overhead cost, so they must be used continuously to avoid draining cash from the hospital budget. So surgeons and administrators are anxious to schedule operations close together to minimize idle time. But conventional systems do not adapt well to fast set point changes to accommodate different procedures. And conventional systems have difficulty controlling several different rooms to different conditions at the same time. Although a specialty cooling-reheating system can be custom-designed to solve these problems, there are advantages to the desiccant approach. Most significantly, the low dew point drying capacity of desiccants allows humidity control by drying only the makeup air. This particularly attractive in retrofit applications where a relatively simple add-on can eliminate the need to replace or upgrade cooling equipment in the OR system.

The system is designed to keep the surgical staff comfortable and to satisfy local codes. The system should also use the least amount of energy possible, but energy consumption is a secondary consideration. Energy cost differences will be measured in thousands of dollars per year. But lost surgical revenues or costs associated with certification problems or construction interruptions would be measured in the millions of dollars per year. From an economic point of view, comfort, compliance and avoiding construction interruptions are two orders of magnitude more important than any differences in energy costs. The surgeon sets the temperature control level. In this case, surgeons and the engineering staff agreed on 68F as the temperature control level. For humidity, codes in Shreveport, LA call for maintaining operating rooms between 45 and 65% rh. The design engineer therefore specified that the new system must be capable of maintaining any or all of the OR's at 45% rh at 68F.
THE BUILDING
The Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport, LA, was built in the late 1970's. Given an existing building, the design engineer was presented with many constraints which would not be typical of new construction.
65
Operating Room HVAC System

150 SC
Supply Air 52, 40gr
A DC
150
System Can Remove
Internal
Tons 11 2.6 33.3 32.4
Lbs/hr -------30 -------366
A
CC
B
DW
C
HP
D
CC
E E
32
Total
A
B
82 94 8,100
C
127 40 7,700
D
11 7 40 7,700
E
52 40 7,700
F
100 11 4 3090
100 11 4 8,100
Figure 4. Hybrid desiccant system controls temperature and moisture in eight operating rooms
The first of these constraints was the original HVAC system which served the eight operating rooms. The system used 100% outside air, to comply with codes of the middle 1970's. Today's codes allow the use of recirculated air, but only if the total flow is increased from 15 air changes per hour to 25 air changes per hour. Such a large increase in air volume would demand more space for duct work, and such extensive reconstruction would halt surgical procedures for several monthsa practical impossibility. Consequently, the design engineer decided to provide the specified conditions by deep-drying the makeup air, which could be accomplished without disrupting surgical operations. Another constraint was the owner's need for chilled water redundancy between the surgical section and the generalcare sections of the hospital. In the past, the hospital staff was able to re-balance the chilled water flow from point to point in the medical complex as loads changed, and as different pieces of refrigeration equipment needed service. So although a low-temperature glycol chiller with re-heat would improve humidity control in the OR's, such a design was simply not acceptable from the perspective of the owner. A second, low-temperature glycol system would prevent recircuiting coolant flow for maintenance and eliminate the benefits of partial redundancy and the ability to meet load peaks in different parts of the complex. Keeping the coolant type the same and keeping the all coolant mixtures and supply temperatures constant was therefore imperative.
A third design factor was the presence of excess steam capacity during summer months. In this community, and with the boiler capacities and the steam system, hospital codes required both boilers to be operated year-round to provide instant back-up for unexpected heating loads and for sterilization needs. During warm months of the year when humidity is high, this excess steam capacity could be put to productive use reactivating a desiccant system. In this situation, the desiccant system converts the wasted capacity of the steam system into useful capacity to control humidityat no increase in overall operating cost. Consequently, the hospital decided to install a hybrid desiccant system at the inlet to the make-up air HVAC system which serves the operating rooms. A photo of this system is shown on the previous page, and it's flow schematic is shown above in figure 4.
THE DESICCANT SYSTEM

A hybrid desiccant system delivers 7700 scfm to the eight operating rooms at a constant year-round temperature of 52F and a moisture level of 40 grains per pound (a dew point of 42F.) If necessary, that air is heated or humidified as it enters each operating room to bring the OR to the condition needed for each procedure. That design allows the condition in each room to be completely independent of the conditions in all the other rooms.
66
Note that in this system, chilled water is used to pre-cool and pre-dehumidify the incoming fresh air before it reaches the desiccant wheel. This feature saves on the overall cost of the system, because at the peak design condition, the desiccant wheel would have to be much larger to remove the full moisture load. That larger wheel would have meant the overall system would have been larger and therefore much more expensive to install. The design decision became a simple matter of comparing the incremental cost of the additional coil to the incremental cost of the larger desiccant wheel. The chilled water pre-cooler is actually operated for less than 100 hours per yearonly when the desiccant wheel cannot fully satisfy the humidistat which controls the supply air. A heat pipe post-cooler moves some of the heat of dehumidification from the supply air to the reactivation air. The balance of the excess sensible heat is then removed by the chilled water post-cooling coil. Even after such post-cooling, the relative humidity in the supply duct work is no higher than 70% rh, meeting ASHRAE Standard 62 guidelines for avoiding fungal infection of duct work.
TIPS & TRAPS FOR APPLYING DESICCANT SYSTEMS TO HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOMS
Some suggestions for operating rooms include: Consider exhaust air energy recovery for new construction In the operating room application, a great deal of airsometimes 100% of the supplyis wasted through exhaust. Using that costly, conditioned air to cool the incoming fresh air is almost always an investment that pay back it's additional equipment cost within months rather than years. Heat pipe exchangers offer the advantages of no maintenance and complete separation of air streams, but heat wheels offer the advantages or controllability plus 20 to 40% greater heat exchange efficiency compared to heat pipes. Both types of exchangers are used extensively in hospital applications. Locate the desiccant system at the fresh air inlet The least expensive and easiest way to apply a desiccant system to an operating room is to treat the makeup air alone. That arrangement minimizes construction interruptions for existing buildings. And for new construction, a 100% outside air system can satisfy codes by providing only 15 air changes per hour. A recirculated air system would need 25 air changes per hour, which would cost considerably more to install. Also, the usual operating cost advantage of a recirculated system usually disappears when heat recovery is used in an all-outside air system. Consider "excess steam" for desiccant reactivation In many hospitals, boilers must operate during summer months at a fraction of their fully-loaded capacity, At that point of operation, boilers are rather inefficient. Using such excess steam capacity for desiccant reactivation improves efficiency and reduces the maintenance problems associated with running boilers at extreme low-load conditions. Raise chilled water supply temperature Since the desiccant wheel will remove all or most of the moisture load, there is no need to run the main chillers at low suction temperatures to provide dehumidification. By setting the chilled water supply temperature at 45 or 48F instead of 40 or 42F, the chillers operate more efficiently, reducing peak power demand and increasing the system's sensible cooling capacity. Raising the chilled water temperature in desiccant-equipped systems saves both first cost and operating costs, without compromising humidity control. Consider indirect evaporative post-cooling Most hospitals have cooling towers to reject heat from the chillers. The water cooled by these towers can also be used for post-cooling supply air from a desiccant system, saving more expensive vapor-compression capacity. Also, when the exhaust air can be used for post-cooling, the waste air can be cooled with evaporative pads in a desiccant system, which may eliminate vapor-compression post cooling entirely. That strategy would reduce first cost as well as operating cost, and the minor maintenance associated with evaporative pads would be familiar and easy for the hospital maintenance staff to accommodate in their normal routines.
TWO YEARS LATER

Jerry Ivey, the project engineer at the hospital, was contacted after one year's operation of the system. He confirmed that the system eliminated complaints from the surgical staff about comfort in the OR, and also pointed out the system responds very quickly to the needed changes in set points between different procedures scheduled for the same OR. This avoids a considerable source of annoyance. Previously, it was not unusual for the surgical team to have to simply wait 10 to 30 minutes while fully gowned and prepped for temperature and humidity conditions to stabilize before beginning procedures. As a result of the success of this project, Mr. Ivey decided to use a desiccant system to control the OR's on a new hospital being built by the Willis-Knighton Health Care System in Bossier City, LA. In that case, he was able to gain somewhat more space to return exhaust air to the unit, so its energy will be used to cool the dry air from the desiccant wheel. That investment in duct work saves 10 tons of sensible cooling capacity, and reduces operating expense for the great majority of the operating hours during the year.
67
Targeted Supermarket System
upermarkets operate on profit margins of less than 2% of sales; and their annual energy costs are about the same amount of money. So Supermarket owners are naturally concerned about energy, and interested in desiccant technology, which can reduce the cost of energy and therefore put more money on the bottom line. For example, in larger stores located in parts of the country with high electrical demand charges along with low-cost gas, a supermarket owner might expect to save between $15,000 and $25,000 per year per store. From the owner's perspective, that means that for every ten stores built with desiccant systems, the annual savings are about equal to the annual profits of an entire store. So desiccants have an appeal that is similar to retail promotions: "For every ten stores built with desiccants, you get one store free". While that overly-casual economic assessment does not apply in all cases, it helps explain why Supermarkets were the first commercial buildings to use desiccant systems as a matter of course. But in addition to energy savings, there are other, more difficult-to-quantify reasons why desiccants are popular with Supermarket owners. Comfort has a higher-than-average value to Supermarket profits. If customers are cold and uncomfortable in front of frozen food display cases, they will not linger to consider purchasing those high-margin products. And if frost has accumulated on ice cream and frozen juice cans, the consumer will reject the product as outdated. Such frosted prod-
ucts represent a cost rather than a profit. Both problems are caused by failures of conventional HVAC systems. Traditional cooling systems do not solve the unique requirements and problems posed by refrigerated display cases.

In most buildings, the sensible heat loads are high during warm months. But in Supermarkets, there is so much cool air spilling from the display cases that there is a heating load all year long, even during the summer. The frozen food aisles must be heated so that customers remain comfortable, And in most buildings, high humidity does not cause major problems for the mechanical system. But in Supermarkets, the display cases must cool air to between -10F and +25F. When air is cooled to such low temperatures, many pounds of water are removed along with sensible heat. That condensed water loads the case refrigeration system three ways. First, the water releases its heat of condensation. Secondly, the cooling coil must bring the water through a change of state to freeze it. Finally, the coil must be warmed for defrosting and re-cooled after the frost is melted. Clearly, minimizing the amount of water in the air will reduce the load on the case refrigeration compressors. Minimizing air moisture will also reduce the frosting problem on the cold products inside the display cases. Desiccant systems solve both problems by removing moisture and provide heat at the same time.
68
Supermarket "Targeted" System

150 SC EC
H
System Can Remove
Internal
Supply Air 84, 36gr
A C B F E D
150
Tons 8.6 18.3 11.9 21.1
Lbs/hr -------208 -------239
A B
C
DW
D
HW
E
CC
F
32
Total
A
B
80 63 9,000
E
84 36 12,000
F
72 36 12,000
G
75 130 4,000
H
190 130 4,000
93 93 3,000
83 122 70 34 12,000 12,000
Figure 5. Targeted dry air desiccant system installed at a Price Chopper Supermarket in Albany, NY.

The system must dry, heat and cool the store. In many cases, the lowest-cost solution involves one or more hybrid desiccant systems to control the entire space. But in larger stores, or "Supercenter" general merchandise stores which have a smaller grocery section, conventional systems are used to condition most of the store, but a desiccant system is used for the area containing refrigerated display cases. That is the strategy preferred by the owner in the current example. The exact control level is always a matter of compromise. Certainly, if the humidity were below 10% at 78F, there would be no frost on any of the coils. However, drying the store to that level would be very costly and uncomfortable. In this case, the owner decided on a maximum control level of 80F and 40% rh (63 gr/lb, or a 53F dew point). Looking at figure 6, one can see why. At this level, the moisture load on the medium-temperature cases has been reduced by almost 50%. Yet the desiccant equipment can be installed for the same cost as a conventional system, or perhaps less.
Refrigerated Area - 12,214 sq.ft., served by an alldesiccant cooling system equipped with an auxiliary vapor compression cooling system, delivering 12,000 of supply air.

The desiccant system flow diagram is outlined in figure 5. It delivers air to the refrigerated area at temperatures between 84 and 72F, depending on the heating requirement in the aisles. The moisture level is never greater than 36 gr/lb, which is a dew point of 40F. By delivering air that dry, the system can remove over 208 lbs of water vapor every hour from the building, and still keep the moisture level in the refrigerated aisles below a 50F dew point (40% rh at 80F). Note the temperature of the air leaving the desiccant wheel, and the cooling arrangement which follows. Air leaves the desiccant wheel at only 122F, even though the air has been dried all the way from 70 to 34 gr/lb. This relatively low temperature rise is made possible by reactivating the desiccant wheel with air heated to only 190F rather than the more common 250F. Since the wheel is not heated so high, there is less waste heat carried over into the process air after reactivation is complete, so the supply air is cooler than in many desiccant systems. After the desiccant, a rotary heat wheel cools the process air, with the assistance of cool air produced by an evaporative cooler. A small amount of moisture is carried over into the dry process air by the heat exchanger (15 lbs per hour). But the combination of the high-efficiency heat wheel and the evaporative cooler does away with the need for 41 tons of conventional post-cooling.
THE BUILDING
The store is located in Albany, NY. It has a total of 43,840 sq.ft. of retail area. The retail space is divided into three general areas. Each is served by a separate rooftop air conditioning and heating system: Produce & Dry Goods - 24,225 sq.ft., served by a 36-ton gas-electric vapor compression cooling system delivering 14,400 cfm of supply air Checkout Area - 7,400 sq.ft., served by a 20-ton gas-electric vapor compression cooling system, delivering 8,000 cfm of supply air.
69
lbs per hr per 1,000 cfm at 25{F coil temperature
50.7 lbs/hr
19.9 lbs/hr
26.3 lbs/hr
32.7 lbs/hr
75F 40% rh 50 gr/lb 48F dpt
Figure 6. Moisture load on refrigerated cases reduces as the control dew point goes down
For more than 97% of the year, this low-cost indirect evaporation is the only cooling required by the system. One of the goals of the system is to keep the aisles warm in the refrigerated area, so air can be supplied at 84, or sometimes higher. But to be certain of meeting temperature needs even on days which go beyond extreme design, the owner elected to install a small supplementary vapor compression cooling system after the heat wheel. This 13-ton subsystem operates for very few hours during the year only during extremely hot and humid weather.
The installed cost of the unit was the same or less than a conventional unit. While the desiccant hardware may cost slightly more, the elimination of expensive below-case return ducts offset the unit cost. The targeted dry air concept has worked very well. The desiccant unit is able to consistently maintain the dew point of the refrigerated area 5 to 8 lower than the dew point in the balance of the store.
TWO YEARS LATER

Benny Smith is Chief Engineer for the Price-Chopper Chain, which owns this building, and five others equipped with desiccant units in addition to 52 stores equipped with either conventional or heat-pipe-assisted cooling systems. Mr. Smith reports that, as with the other 1,000 desiccant units installed in Supermarkets, this system delivers the expected benefits. In particular, the comfort in the aisles is greatly enhanced compared to buildings with either conventional cooling or heat-pipe-assisted conventional cooling. Mr. Smith notes that even his service technicians remark on the improved comfort levels and the improved product appearance at the desiccant-equipped location. Energy consumption has been minimized as predicted. Maintenance has been about the same as with the conventional cooling units. The slight increase in maintenance needed for the evaporative cooler is offset by the reduced filter maintenance made possible by eliminating the belowcase returns. (When air is brought back to the unit from the floor, it carries more dust and dirt than air returned from the ceiling level)
TIPS AND TRAPS FOR APPLYING DESICCANT SYSTEMS TO SUPERMARKETS

Engineers and owners can benefit from the experience of this and other cases of desiccant systems in Supermarkets. Reduce defrost cycles to reflect reduced humidity In older supermarkets, the case defrost is set with timers. In newer stores, defrost might be set through the central energy management system. In either event, it is important to change the defrost cycle frequency to match the reduced need when humidity is controlled at low levels. Otherwise, a significant part of the energy savings may not be realized. Shut off anti-sweat heaters on cases and on doors In stores equipped with desiccant units, there is seldom a need to operate the anti-sweat heaters. Since these heaters can account for 20 to 35kw of electrical load, it is generally wise to leave them off unless humidity rises above the set point. Each store will respond somewhat differently to rising humidity, so some experimentation is needed before the optimal heater-on humidity set point can be established. Consider targeting the dry air from above In some cases, controlling humidity in the entire store may be more economical. In other cases, overall costs can be less when only the refrigerated area is controlled at low
70
Photo of the targeted desiccant system installed at the Albany store
humidity levels. When targeting the air rather than controlling the entire store, balancing the air flows becomes even more important than usual. Each supply diffuser should be equipped with its own individual air flow damper. Also, the supply air should be distributed through double-deflection supply grills so that the warm, dry air can be aimed directly at the baseboard kick plates of the display cases. That way, warm air mixes with the cold layer of air at the floor, raising the aisle temperature to more comfortable levels. Also, aiming the air at the baseboards avoids having the warm air drift into the cases. Consider reducing air flow to meet the load In this example, the air flow was maintained at a fairly high level1 cfm/sq.ft. This high circulation rate was necessary with cooling-based equipment because air could not be dried deeplyso more air had to be cooled to provide adequate moisture removal. Desiccants allow the possibility of using less air, but the preferences and experiences of owners vary considerably on this point. Some owners reduce circulation rates, because the desiccant-dried air allows the moisture load to be removed with much less air. Figures as low as 0.5 cfm/sq.ft. have been used, and circulation rates between 0.6 and 0.7 cfm/sq.ft. are quite common for desiccant-equipped stores. By reducing the air flow, the desiccant unit uses less fan horsepower, saving additional energy cost. But as in this case, not all owners agree that the reduced circulation rate can provide good air mixing and even temperature control. The savings possible through lower circulation rates make this point worth the owner's time to discuss with the design engineer.
Evaluate pluses and minuses of below-case air returns Returning air from below the cases (rather than from the ceiling) has the advantage of capturing cold air spilling from the cases, so the aisles are warmer and the cold air can be used to enhance the performance of the desiccant wheel. But such returns require duct work running behind or below the cases, which is relatively costly compared to ceiling returns. Also, pulling air from the floor means that the air will be dirtier than air pulled from the ceiling, so filters are needed at the face of the return grill, and these filters must be changed frequently to avoid air flow problems. Once again, owners are divided on this point. Many favor below-case returns because of their potential for superior comfort, while others prefer the lower-cost alternative of ceiling returns, and do not see comfort advantages for low returns. Supply outside air via the desiccant system ASHRAE Standard 62 calls for large amounts of fresh air in retail stores. This outside air carries the bulk of the moisture load. A desiccant system removes moisture very efficiently compared to conventional systems. So when a store is served by both desiccant and conventional systems, the designer should consider letting the desiccant unit(s) handle the fresh air, and allowing the conventional units to cool recirculated air only. Then the conventional units can be set up with higher-than-normal evaporator temperatures, since they do not need to dehumidify. Higher evaporator temperatures allow them to operate with less power consumption per ton of cooling, which saves energy and reduces the peak electrical demand.
71
Medical Research Building
esearch laboratories contain the most sophisticated plumbing and mechanical systems of all commercial or institutional buildings. An engineer must design systems and select equipment to deal with hazardous chemical and biological agents which enter and leave the building in highly complex mixtures. The mechanical systems must protect people, but must also protect the research results which are the reason the building exists. The ventilation and air conditioning system is especially challenging. A large amount of air is exhausted from fume hoods and from biological safety cabinets, which protect workers from hazardous agents used in the research. The exhaust air must be replaced by air from the outside. Conditioning that air is very costly. Also, air balance is critical, because lab equipment uses air pressure differences to control the air flows which protect workers. Protecting workers is obviously critical, but protecting research results is equally critical. Research projects can last for years. If temperature and humidity varies widely, results from one time period may not match results from a different season of the year, raising questions about the validity of the research. So maintaining a stable temperature and humidity becomes far more important in a lab than it might be in other buildings where comfort is the primary concern. The ventilation system must isolate the building from weather changes, in spite of the fact that hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of weather air are introduced into the building every minute.
Much of the load on such ventilation systems is moisture. For example, on a design day in Chicago, every 10,000 cfm of ventilation air carries more than 48 gallons of excess water vapor into the building every hour. That load must be removed, along with excess sensible heat. Desiccant systems are especially useful in lab ventilation systems because they can remove moisture very efficiently, and because the engineer can use desiccant systems to decouple the temperature control system from the humidity control system. By using a desiccant system, the engineer can provide independent control of humidity, so that conditions remain stable in the building, regardless of changes in sensible heat loads.
THE BUILDING
The Sanders Research and Education building at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta was built in 1970. It contains 250,000 sq.ft. of classroom and laboratory space. The original air conditioning system was equipped with 1200 tons of chiller capacity to maintain the building at 75F during the summer. Gas-fired steam boilers were in place to maintain 70F during the winter, and to provide the re-heat which was intended to control humidity. The temperature was allowed to fluctuate between a low of 70 and a high of 75 during the spring and fall. To control dew point, the system sprayed water over the coils which cool the make-up air. By controlling the flow of
72
Installed Cost Comparison Based on Actual Bids Conventional

(When equal to
$1,710,000
Desiccant)
$1,685,000 Desiccant
Additi onal Chi l l er & Rework $750, 000 Installation, ri ggi ng, et c. $358, 000 Dem ol i t i on $60, 000 Control s & E l ect ri cal $52, 000 Rooftop S yst em s Cost $490, 000
I n s t a lla t io n , r ig g in g , e t c . $707,420 C o n t r o ls & Ele c t r ic a l $62,000 D e mo lit io n $60,000 R o o f t o p Sy s t e ms C o s t $855,580
Figure 7. Construction bids for the desiccant and cooling-based alternatives.
water through the cooling coils, the make-up air system could provide air at different dew points. But to control relative humidity, the air had to be over-cooled to the desired dew point, and then re-heated. Over time, this system had more and more difficulty maintaining temperature and humidity within the range needed for consistent research results. This was partly because the sensible heat loads in the building became greater as more electronic equipment was added to serve researchers. Also, over time, the sprayed coils became less effective coolers. In addition, ASHRAE research into IAQ problems suggested that highly saturated air in old duct work was not the best way to avoid contamination in a research facility. Finally, the system was never designed for tight humidity tolerances, so it had difficulty responding to fast changes in weather temperature and moisture. Rh above 65% was common inside the research labs.
For this project, the owner and engineer agreed that temperature should be controlled as beforebetween 70 and 75F, and that humidity should remain constant at 50% rh 5%rh The engineers noted that if the make-up air system could be improved, the rest of the existing system could handle the internal loads. Also, by re-working the make-up air system instead of the internal duct work, the building could continue in operation without disrupting research and instruction, saving money for the college. While adding chillers was an option, costs would be high. There was no space in the existing mechanical rooms, and the roof could not take such heavy, vibrating loads. So additional chillers would have to be placed at ground level in a new mechanical room built on the side of the building, and the chilled water would have to be pumped to the roof where the air inlets were located. The problem could be stated clearly: how best to precondition the make-up air so it is dry enough to remove any internal moisture loads, and cool enough to avoid overloading the building's existing cooling system?
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM + SETTING CONTROL LEVELS

Problems maintaining humidity prompted a new look at what the system was expected to accomplish. After careful needs analysis, the design engineering firm, Nottingham, Brook and Pennington of Macon, GA, determined that the system needed somewhat more sensible capacity and a great deal more moisture removal capacity. The existing system simply did not have the capacity to control both temperature and humidity since loads had grown and researcher's expectations had risen. It was no longer acceptable for humidity to swing as high as 70% rh and as low as 45% as the weather changed.
DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
Given the prohibitive cost of a chiller-based solution to truly meet the loads, the engineer had a choice of using either an undersized conventional system or a desiccant-based system for the make-up air. Uncertain of the economics, the engineer decided to design both alternatives and send both to bid. When the bids were received, the desiccant system was somewhat higher, but it would met all the loads, where
73
Annual Operating Cost Comparison Conventional $425,374

Demand Costs $244,400 Electical Usage $200,974
Desiccant $230,928
Electrical Usage $86,865 Demand Costs $73,341 Reactivation Costs $ 6 3 , 0 11 Additional Fan Energy $ 8 , 7 11
Figure 8. Estimate of annual operating costs for both alternatives
Research Building AC System

SC EC 150
Supply Air 55, 60gr
D A E C B
150
System Can Remove

Internal
A
Lbs/hr -------514 -------5,850
DW
B
HW
E
CC
MBtu/h Sensible 4,320 Latent 544 Sensible Latent 7,668 6,201
Tons 360 45.5 639 516
D A
Temperature (F) Moisture (gr/lb) Airflow (000 scfm)
32
Total
B
150 50 140
C
95 50 140
D
95 115 50
E
95 75 200
F
55 60 200
G
80 142 70
H
190 142 70
95 115 140
Figure 9. Desiccant-assisted air conditioning system, installed at the Medical College of Georgia
the undersized (but affordable) chillers would not meet the loads. The owner decided to spend somewhat more money for the desiccant system, since it would perform the needed functions fully, and because it's cost of operations would be much lower than the chiller alternative. The cost of power was fairly low at $0.05 kwh, but the demand charges were rather high at $11.50 per peak Kw. Gas costs for desiccant reactivation were relatively low at $0.25 per therm ($0.33 per therm after boiler losses). But in addition, the boilers operated way below peak capacity during summer months. So the true incremental cost of summer boiler usage was less than the projection. As shown in figure 8, the engineers expected that the desiccant system would save approximately $200,000 annually compared to the cost of operating a conventional system.
ure 9 indicate the sum of the capacities of all systems. Dividing the load between four units ( figure 10) allowed for easier rigging, and also provides a degree of redundancy, so that if any one unit needs maintenance. The other three can take the load and maintenance can be performed during off-peak conditions without interrupting research. The desiccant systems use the building's boiler for reactivation, drying most of the make-up air before it blends with the additional makeup air. Note that in this case, the reactivation temperature is 250F. By using such a high temperature, the desiccant wheel dries air very deeply. That very dry air can then be blended with additional un-treated makeup air and the return air (point D), with the result that the blended air stream (point E) is still dry enough to remove the internal moisture loads and maintain 50% rh. The desiccant system removes 5,800 lbs/hr (701 gallons) of water per hour from the incoming air. The engineer could have chosen to dry all the make-up air rather than only 140,000 cfm, but then the desiccant wheel would have to be larger, increasing the system cost. In this case, hotter reactivation (deeper drying) reduced the installation cost

To remove the internal loads, the building needs 200,000 cfm delivered to the space at 55F and 60 gr./lb. This air flow is provided by four identical desiccant systems, Figure 9 shows the components of each system. The tables in fig-
74
Roof Layout - 200,000 cfm Hybrid Desiccant System

Supply air to the building
Conventional cooling coils Additional outside air Dry air from desiccant systems Evaporative pad Heat wheel Reactivation steam coils Desiccant wheel Reactivation fan Ventilation (outside) air
Figure 10. Rooftop layout of desiccant systems and air handlers at the Medical College.
After the desiccant wheel, the dry make-up air is cooled by a heat wheel combined with an indirect evaporative cooler. The high efficiency of the heat wheel, combined with the evaporative cooling effect displaces 693 tons of sensible cooling. That reduces the system's power consumption and greatly reduces the building's peak electrical demand. Following the heat wheel, the dry air is blended with additional make-up air. The blended air is then cooled by conventional chilled water cooling coils before the air is delivered to the building. The desiccant wheels move the building's moisture load from the overloaded chillers to the under-utilized boilers. This saves money because during the summer, operating boilers is less expensive than operating more chillers.
tems is capable of removing a high percentage of pollutants from the air in addition to water vapor. Although the desiccant system was not selected for this reason, any aircleaning benefits are welcome in a research environment where lab exhausts can mix with air near the intakes in unpredictable ways.
TIPS & TRAPS FOR APPLYING DESICCANT SYSTEMS TO RESEARCH BUILDINGS

Engineers and owners can benefit from the experience of this and other examples of desiccant systems in research buildings. Consider using exhaust air to aid post-cooling In this case, the exhaust air contained a high concentration of complex chemical mixtures. Also, the air was exhausted from numerous different points on the roof. So the owner preferred not to collect the air for use in the indirect evaporative cooler (heat wheel) which cools the hot air as it leaves the desiccant. But in other circumstances, an owner can benefit from using the relatively cool and dry exhaust air from the building for the indirect evaporative cooling process. If that had been possible in this case, an additional 142 tons of conventional cooling could have been saved. Consider using condenser heat for partial reactivation In many larger buildings with a continuous sensible heat load, the cooling system is constantly rejecting heat to a cooling tower. That warm water leaving the condenser barrel on its way back to the cooling tower can be used a first stage of heat for desiccant reactivation. This would improve econom-
TWO YEARS LATER

David Smith, PE., is the Manager of Facility Engineering for the Medical College of Georgia. He confirms that the desiccant system operates as expected, saving money and controlling humidity. Data logs from the central Digital Control System confirm that humidity is maintained between 45 and 55% rh even during the cooler, damp conditions typical of evenings and mornings, and during heavy summer rain storms. Further, Mr. Smith notes that about the time the system was installed, the manufacturer's desiccant wheel was tested independently by the Georgia Tech Research Institute. That testing shows that the desiccant mixture used in these sys-
75
Removing IAQ Pollutants With Desiccants

Process Air Contaminant & Concentration Inlet Outlet
Percent Removal
96
SO2 Hexane (Low rh) Hexane (High rh) Ozone Formaldehyde CO2 Toluene (High rh)
53 ppb 1.72 ppm 1.72 ppm 60 ppm 1.2 ppm 1,325 ppm 5.75 ppm
4 ppb 0.18 ppm 1.1 ppm 12 ppm 0.3 ppm 425 ppm 2.4 ppm
10 20 30 40 50 60 61 70 80 90 68 75 36 92
80
Some advanced desiccants remove common IAQ pollutants, but collection levels vary depending on the material, pollutant types and concentrations as well as on air temperature and moisture. The performance of one material is illustrated here. In this test, high humidity was 118 gr/lb, and low humidity was 80 gr/lb, which are typical of outdoor and indoor environments, respectively.
Source: Georgia Tech Research Institute
Figure 11. The desiccant wheel s installed on this building are capable of removing some times of gaseous contaminats from the incominf fresh air
Photo of the four desiccant units installed on the roof of the medical research building
ics in cases where the piping and pumping costs do not exceed the savings. In the current case, such additional installation cost would not have been justified. Dry air allows higher chilled water temperatures In existing installations where chilled water capacity is often short, a desiccant system allows the owner to re-set the chilled water temperature to a higher level, increasing the capacity of the equipment. Since the chiller does not have to cool air deeply enough to dehumidify it, there is no need to produce 42 or 48 chilled water. If the chiller can supply water at 52 or 55F, it can operate more efficiently, saving money and regaining capacity. Avoid cross-contamination on the roof top Air leaving a desiccant system's reactivation circuit is hot and humid, because it is carrying away the building's moisture loads. But frequently, the inlets to the building are also located on the roof. The engineer should take precautions to avoid pulling the hot, humid exhaust into the fresh air supply of the building. For example, the system discharge can be directed upwards like a stack exhaust, and the system inlets arranged to pull air in horizontally at roof level. Consider special desiccant alternatives for lab buildings No matter what precautions are taken on the roof top, the fact remains that any lab exhausts contaminated air. Anything that can be done to clean the air entering the building reduces the chance that contaminants around the building might end up inside. Some desiccant wheels can remove gaseous pollutants, as in this case. The engineer may wish to investigate desiccant equipment with this in mind.

HVAC Handbook Applications Engineering Manual For Desiccant Systems

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

HVAC Handbook Applications Engineering Manual For Desiccant Systems

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Chapter 1 - Introduction

BENEFITS FOR THE SECOND CENTURY OF AIR CONDITIONING

REALIZING THE BENEFITS

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Desiccant Wheel Operation

Humid Process Air

Dry Process Air to the HVAC System

HOW DESICCANTS WORK

Figure 1. Desiccant wheel operating principles

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Moisture Exchange (Enthalpy Wheel)

Moisture Removal (Desiccant Wheel)

Outdoor Air Reactivation Heater

DESICCANTS CHANGE VAPOR TO HEAT

ENERGY RECOVERY VS. DESICCANT WHEELS

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 3 - Types Of Desiccant Systems

CHAPTER 3 TYPES OF DESICCANT SYSTEMS

All-Desiccant & Hybrid Systems

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEMS

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 3 - Types Of Desiccant Systems

All-Desiccant Air Conditioning System

Chicago 2.5% Design 91, 92gr/lb

Figure 2 All-Desiccant system, including an indirect evaporative cooler.

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 3 - Types Of Desiccant Systems

Heat Exchanger Reactivation Pre-Heat Optional Indirect Evaporative Post-Cooler

Hybrid Desiccant System Hardware Options

Filter Desiccant Wheel Process Air Sector Process Air Fan

HYBRID DESICCANT SYSTEMS

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 3 - Types Of Desiccant Systems

Psychrometrics of Each Desiccant System Alternative

Process Air Path

Reactivation Air Path

Figure 6. State points within a desiccant system.

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 3 - Types Of Desiccant Systems

Liquid Desiccant System and Flow Diagram

Figure 7. Liquid desiccant system

LIQUID DESICCANT SYSTEMS

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 4 - Configurations & Consequences

CHAPTER 4 CONFIGURATIONS + CONSEQUENCES

100% Outside Air Systems

ISSUES FOR 100% OUTSIDE AIR SYSTEMS

COMMERCIAL DESICCANT SYSTEM APPLICATION GUIDE

Chapter 4 - Configurations & Consequences

Make-up Air With Exhaust Recovery

Post-cooling by heat exchanger alone

Supply Air 89, 55gr

System Can Remove

MBtu/h Sensible (151) Latent 68 Sensible Latent (65) 463

Tons (12.6) 5.7 (5.4) 38.6

Lbs/hr -------64 -------437

83 144 123 55 10,000 10,000

Make-up Air - No Exhaust Recovery

Post-cooling by heat exchanger alone

Supply Air 95, 55gr

System Can Remove

MBtu/h Sensible (216) Latent 68 Sensible Latent (129) 463