Projects Profile
Project Title
A Novel Dew Point Air Conditioning System
Partnership
Dr Xudong Zhao, The University of Nottingham
Professor Junming Li, Tsinghua University
Project Aim
Following the successful completion of the ICUK PG study, the PoC project aims to develop two sets of commercially available dew point air conditioners; each with 1kW of cooling output and suitable for cooling of a 10 to 20 m2 single room under the UK and China climate conditions, individually.
The detailed objectives of the project are
1) Construct two commercial demonstrators of dew point air conditioners, one for China and another for the UK domestic environment;
2) Test the performance of the dew point air conditioner in a UK domestic environment, and optimize its structure design;
3) Test the performance of the dew point air conditioner in a China domestic environment, and optimize its structure design;
4) License the technology to industry.
Inspiration for the projects
In recent years, a dew point system has emerged from market. This system breaks the limits of wet bulb, and allows the supply air to be cooled to a level below the wet bulb and above the dew point of the ambient air. It employs a perforated cross flow heat and mass exchanger, and is able to achieve a dew point effectiveness of 60 to 70%. Tests under the UK climate condition showed that the system can lower
the supply air (from outside) temperature down to 16 to 20oC. This level of cooling effectiveness is still relatively small, which has impeded the systems’ application in the UK and China.
The recent invention of University of Nottingham and Tsinghua University has demonstrated an enhanced dew point effectiveness of up to 85% to 90%, 20% to 30% higher than the existing perforated cross flow exchanger. We would like to commercialise this new type of technology which will substantially reduce the use of the electricity.
Commercial Potential and Further Development
The new system will reduce the demand for electricity required for air conditioning of buildings, and therefore have obvious benefits to the UK and China in terms of reduced fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emission to the environment. Market demand of this technology is expected to be high. A market research carried out by Dunan China indicated that the market value in the UK alone would be £35 million per annum, whereas in China the figure would be as high as £190 million in an annual base.
