3 ms·
Oh, so it's a swamp cooler, but one that pre-dries the air passively? It could work, in some climates. But yeah, the cost and rate you need to replace the desi
by Night_Thastus 3y ago
Oh, so it's a swamp cooler, but one that pre-dries the air passively?
It could work, in some climates. But yeah, the cost and rate you need to replace the desiccant is the critical factor. In my experience, most commercial users don't want to screw with their AC systems more than once a year, and want it to "just work" without bothering with 'unnecessary' things like preventative maintenance.
If it needs replacement on the order of once a month or more, then I doubt this will go anywhere.
- 4hg4ufxhy 3y agoSounds perfect for AC subscription service.
- Night_Thastus 3y agoWhen money is even slightly tight, AC maintenance feels like the first thing to go. It costs a fair amount of cash just to get people out there up on the roof. They'll only call in work when it suddenly is 85 in the dining room and they're wondering why.
- hypercube33 3y agosave money in power that you trade for time (labor) and expendibles seems like a failure
- Night_Thastus 3y agoDepends on how often the desiccant needs to be replaced and its cost. If it's once a year and costs as much as the filters do, and saves 20% power, then it's a no-brainer. If it's once a month and cost 1k each, saves 5% energy, then it's pointless. We don't know the numbers, so can't say for sure.
- bluGill 3y agoMany businesses have learned that keeping up on maintenance is cheaper in the long run. If nothing else your insurance will check before paying out. You might adjust the temperature when things get tight - which saves a lot more money - but most keep it maintained.
- ilyt 3y agoI dunno, from my experience of having small server room in company I work for with 2 AC units the devices will fail when they want to fail and aside from cleaning maintenance never found actual issue before it happened in both units. Seemed like moving it to be done every 2 years would just save us money
- bluGill 3y agoOther than replacing the belts and filters there isn't much you can do. They should be a sealed system where there is nothing that can be done once it leaves the factory. Those belts are filters are important to maintain - they only stop a minority of failures though.
- calfuris 3y agoIt's a closed loop system. The desiccant is regenerated occasionally, which can usually be arranged to happen at desirable times (cheaper/cleaner electricity depending on your priorities). The regeneration is done with a heat pump, so if it can be accomplished at a relatively low temperature the COP could be spectacular for seasonal use cases.
- Night_Thastus 3y agoSo they use a heat pump to heat the desiccant and remove the moisture? Maintenance on this thing sounds like a nightmare. It's a heat pump and an evaporative cooler all in one. I can see how it would work in theory, but I'm curious how it would hold up practically ~5-10 years into use.
- infecto 3y agoClosed loop system, never needs to be replaced.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]