Building-Integrated Enthalpy Exchange-Thermal and Optical Characterization

Energy consumption in the US increased threefold over the past fifty years, while the energy consumed by US buildings during that same period increased 4.3 X.(USEIA) Architectural Applications (a2) is developing a membrane-based heat and moisture exchanger that reduces the air conditioning energy consumption of buildings in humid climates by 15-30%. The technology outperforms competitors on the market by virtue of its large scale. The large exchanger is manufactured in a panelized form factor and integrated into the building wall system. The hybrid technology provides increased air conditioning efficiency, improved building enclosure thermal performance, and preserves the leasable space otherwise occupied by conventional equipment.a2 led a team that included Lawrence Berkeley national Laboratory (LBL) to validate the air conditioning function of the technology with funding from ARPA-E. In the Phase I stage of this STTR project, a2 once again teamed with LBL to validate the building enclosure performance, with results achieving our expectations in both phases. Having validated the physics, the Phase II project will concern itself with the engineering scale-up and validation, including a demonstration of the technology retrofitted into an existing building. a2 has recently signed a joint development agreement with Phase II teammate dPoint Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer of conventional membrane air conditioning exchangers to commercialize this technology through their existing market channels. Hitachi High Technologies has also issued a letter stating their intent to invest during Phase III.