Experimental investigation of a vapor compression system with condenser air pre-cooling by condensate

Air conditioning systems contribute to the largest share of energy consumption in building sector. On the other hand, the systems produce reasonable amount of condensate, especially when operating in humid climates. The aim of this study is to minimize the energy consumption and improve the performance of air conditioning systems utilizing condensate. Experimental investigation has been carried out to improve the performance of an air-cooled vapor compression system by pre-cooling air entering the condenser using condensate. A pre-cooler is incorporated on a 1.5 ton-cooling capacity split-type air conditioning system to lower the air temperature entering the condenser sensibly. Performances of the air conditioning system with and without air pre-cooling are compared and reported in this paper. The results show that pre-cooling the air by about 4 °C before entering the condenser lowers the compressor discharge pressure. The decrease in the discharge pressure resulted in the decrease in compressor power consumption by 6.1% and the cooling effect of the system is enhanced. The combined effect of the increase in the cooling effect and decrease in compressor power resulted in an increase in the coefficient of performance (COP) and second law efficiency of the system by about 21.4 and 20.5%, respectively.