4 ms·

I am kinda struggling with the thermodynamics of that mechanism. Can someone explain where the energy saving comes from using Thermodynamic Integration or compa

I am kinda struggling with the thermodynamics of that mechanism. Can someone explain where the energy saving comes from using Thermodynamic Integration or comparing the (almost) cyclic processes of this one with a conventional air conditioners cycle?

space_fountain 4y ago
I think this is similar to the difference between a heat pump and a heater. Normally to dehumidify we strip the humidity out of the air and turn it into water, but all the embedded energy in the water vapor needs to go somewhere and it ends up heating up the house. Here instead they have a device that on net pumps humid air out of a structure. It doesn’t try to pull it all out of the air, just to move it from one bit of air to another so it doesn’t have to pay the full price of removing it
toast0 4y ago
A traditional dehumidifier is more or less an air conditioner, where you run inside air over the cool side, so that humidity condenses and is collected, then the air exits over the warm side and into the room. This device uses two chambers with a dessicant and alternates between running inside air through the chamber to adsorb humidity from the air into the dessicant and then using a vaccum to pull water vapor from the dessicant and pump it into the outside air. There's no energy intensive phase change of the refrigerant, and if I understand it correctly, the adsorbtion and deadsorbtion of the water vapor into and out of the dessicant isn't very energy intensive either. Note that this system doesn't work without access to outside air to vent the water vapor, whereas a traditional dehumidifier runs within a space, although the condesate may drain to outside. The effectiveness will likely depend on the humidity and temperature and the properties of the cooling system this device is paired with. An air conditioner will generally provide some dehumidificiation anyway (unless the cold side doesn't reach the dew point...) and maybe that's enough, in which case additional dehumidification isn't helpful. In some places, temperature reduction isn't needed and just dehumidification, this system could help reduce humidity without providing cooling.

space_fountain 4y ago

I think this is similar to the difference between a heat pump and a heater. Normally to dehumidify we strip the humidity out of the air and turn it into water, but all the embedded energy in the water vapor needs to go somewhere and it ends up heating up the house. Here instead they have a device that on net pumps humid air out of a structure. It doesn’t try to pull it all out of the air, just to move it from one bit of air to another so it doesn’t have to pay the full price of removing it

toast0 4y ago

A traditional dehumidifier is more or less an air conditioner, where you run inside air over the cool side, so that humidity condenses and is collected, then the air exits over the warm side and into the room. This device uses two chambers with a dessicant and alternates between running inside air through the chamber to adsorb humidity from the air into the dessicant and then using a vaccum to pull water vapor from the dessicant and pump it into the outside air. There's no energy intensive phase change of the refrigerant, and if I understand it correctly, the adsorbtion and deadsorbtion of the water vapor into and out of the dessicant isn't very energy intensive either. Note that this system doesn't work without access to outside air to vent the water vapor, whereas a traditional dehumidifier runs within a space, although the condesate may drain to outside. The effectiveness will likely depend on the humidity and temperature and the properties of the cooling system this device is paired with. An air conditioner will generally provide some dehumidificiation anyway (unless the cold side doesn't reach the dew point...) and maybe that's enough, in which case additional dehumidification isn't helpful. In some places, temperature reduction isn't needed and just dehumidification, this system could help reduce humidity without providing cooling.