Simulation tests on dehumidifiers for optimal energy usage

• Main Author: Lee, Germaine Cai Hui.
• Other Authors: Su Haibin
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52554
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

It is becoming of great significance to substantially model building energy usage and function of humidity control systems in order to achieve higher energy savings level in view of increasing environmental issues and need for energy efficiency. With the development of EnergyPlus program, it has become possible for design engineers to analyse the energy usage of dehumidifiers and find a room size that best fits the dehumidifier with respect to cost savings and water removal. Previous research studies have shown that Direct Expansion dehumidifiers are energy efficient and help reduce the cost of maintenance of home durability and acceptable air quality. A generic performance curve was also developed from the data of six residential dehumidifiers to enable ease of simulation of energy usage for dehumidifiers at a rated operating condition. Therefore, this project will be a series of simulation on four of the Direct Expansion dehumidifiers to find a room size which best fits the dehumidifiers at the relative humidity set-point, that yields highest water removal which are not provided by the manufacturers under Singapore weather conditions. The test results show that all four dehumidifiers have a larger optimal room size when the relative humidity set-point is 70% compared to when it is at 50% and 60%. For 50% and 60% relative humidity set-points, the optimal room sizes are similar around 40 m2 to 47 m2. For 70% relative humidity set-point, the optimal room sizes for the four dehumidifiers are all above 70 m2 but Ultra-Aire XT150H has the highest at 97 m2. All four dehumidifiers are adequate for dehumidifying a living room size around 34 m2 in Singapore housing to a healthy level of 70% and below relative humidity as it has not exceed the optimal room size.