An Integrated Residential Heating, Cooling, Dehumidification, and Ventilation System

72200B03-I Inadequate fresh air ventilation and poor humidity control are two of the biggest problems in residential buildings. New homes are being built more tightly and with better materials, resulting in less natural ventilation, lower sensible cooling loads, and consequent higher latent cooling loads. Conventional air conditioning systems, even when combined with other systems, are not capable of efficiently and effectively addressing these problems, and miss the opportunity to reduce cooling load by ventilating with cooler outdoor air. This project will develop an integrated heating-cooling system that provides efficient dehumidification, fresh air ventilation, and ventilation cooling at an affordable price. The resulting product will largely utilize existing hardware, including manufactured variable speed furnaces or air handlers combined with advanced digital controls, to facilitate rapid commercialization. Phase I will establish theoretical performance, verify component performance by laboratory testing, identify available materials, and develop control strategies. The goals of Phase I will be to verify that a single evaporator coil can effectively be used for both sensible cooling and dehumidification, to determine the feasibility of applying a desuperheater coil to re-heat air for mild climate dehumidification, and to identify preferred operating modes and control strategies. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: This product should benefit the manufacturing, distribution, and contracting sectors by generating more work and creating more jobs; builders and insurance firms by reducing mold claims; utilities and ratepayers by improving load factors and decreasing costs of generation; and homeowners and government agencies by reducing energy costs and improving indoor air quality and comfort.