Performance simulation of a joint solid desiccant heat pump and variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system in EnergyPlus

Abstract

Temperature and humidity independent control (THIC) system has become an attractive alternative to conventional HVAC systems for its merits of energy-saving. In this paper, a novel solid desiccant heat pump is introduced and integrated with a conventional variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system (VRF) to form a THIC system. A standalone module of the SDHP is developed and the integration of the proposed THIC system is established based on EnergyPlus. Performance of this joint SDHP and VRF system (JDVS) is investigated in an office room. Parametric investigation results show that performance of SDHP varies greatly with the change of ambient air condition and part load ratio. Then, performance of JDVS in terms of capacity, energy consumption and system coefficient of performance (COP) is studied under summer and winter conditions. Finally, comparison study with the conventional joint heat recovery ventilator (HRV) and VRF system (JHVS) is conducted. Simulation results show that JDVS could obtain a better indoor thermal comfort while consuming less energy compared to JHVS. Through the whole year, JDVS consumes 18.7% less energy compared to JHVS. In addition, 85.5% of the indoor condition provided by JDVS falls in the comfort zone, and 35.4% provided by JHVS falls in the comfort zone.