A study on energy saving of cooling/reheating system using compact heat exchanger

When circulated air passes through the cooling coil in an air-conditioning system, the air is over-cooled to eliminate the moisture and decrease the temperature. The cooled air is then reheated to recover the temperature. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the performance of a cooling/reheating system with regard to both cooling and reheating energy savings affected by exchanging heat between the cooled air and the reheated air with a compact heat exchanger. The thermal and dehumidification behaviors of the system were evaluated experimentally and then compared with simulation data. The results show that the energy saving rate was as high as 50% under the present experimental conditions and was affected by the face velocity of the heat exchanger, the inlet temperature, the inlet humidity ratio, and the effectiveness of heat exchanger. Furthermore, the experimental data were found to be in fairly good agreement with the simulation data.