A novel variable refrigerant flow system with solar regeneration-based desiccant-assisted ventilation

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) based air-conditioning systems provide better thermal comfort with respect to the conventional all-air systems involving either constant air volume (CAV) or variable air volume (VAV) technique. In this study, a novel VRF strategy involving potential of improved indoor air quality has been proposed by integrating solar energy with desiccant-assisted dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS). DOAS is responsible for ventilation and humidity control. An indirect evaporative cooling arrangement is incorporated in the path of supply air from desiccant for reducing the load on the VRF system. Using Energyplus simulations, thermal and electrical energy characteristics of the proposed system have been investigated for three climatic conditions. A comparative assessment of the novel system has been made against the conventional VRF and all -air VAV air-conditioning system. Results show that for warm-humid climate, electrical energy saving potential of the proposed solar energy-assisted VRF system is around 23.9 % and 9.5 % than the conventional all-air VAV and VRF systems, respectively. Under composite climate the saving offered by the proposed system with respect to VAV and VRF is determined as 13.8 % and 9.4 %, respectively. Finally, the energy saving obtained with solar energy based VRF for the hot-dry climate is 17.5 % and 11.6 % against conventional all-air VAV and VRF sys-tems, respectively. Excellent solar fraction is observed for composite and hot-dry climates, whereas for warm-humid climate, it is determined as 0.97. A comparative analysis with conventional cooling coil assisted DOAS-VRF system also shows energy savings by the proposed system.

Automated summary

This study proposes a novel VRF strategy that integrates solar energy and desiccant-assisted DOAS to improve indoor air quality. Energyplus simulations show that the system achieves significant energy savings across different climatic conditions.