Performance enhancement of a vapor compression system by condensate

  • Abdulghani A. Al-Farayedhi*
  • , Nasiru I. Ibrahim
  • , Palanichamy Gandhidasan
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Air-conditioning systems consume large amount of energy and generate considerable amount of condensate when operated in hot and humid climates. This study considers utilizing the generated condensate to pre-cool the air entering evaporators to improve systems performance. Experimental and analytical investigations are carried out by using an air-conditioning system of 4.75 kW (16207 BTU/h) cooling capacity incorporated with an air pre-cooler and a condensate tank that acts as a thermal storage. During the pre-cooling-on period, the air inlet temperature of the evaporator is decreased by 5.7°C (10.3°F) and the compressor power consumption is reduced by 5.1% because of the decrease in discharge pressure. The coefficient of performance increases by 30.7% and second-law efficiency by 24.2%. The air pre-cooling is practical for 4–5 hours daily during the daytime if a 450–1000 kg of condensate cold thermal storage is employed. The deviation is 6.7% between the analytical and experimental results.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)748-760
Number of pages13
JournalScience and Technology for the Built Environment
Volume23
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Jul 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 ASHRAE.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

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