SBIR Phase I: Rotary heat exchanger for energy reduction in residential and commercial HVAC applications

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project addresses the immediate need to develop advanced air conditioning technology that increases energy efficiency and will have a significant and positive impact on reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. As Room Air Conditioning (RAC) demand increases by an estimated 5x over the next 30 years, it is crucial that newly established scientific and technological approaches be developed which lessen the requirement of 'peaker' power plants to supply electricity for their operation. Nativus is engineering an energy-efficient 12,000 BTU Room Air Conditioner (RAC) for residential and light-commercial consumers, capable of cooling 500 ft2. Through a complete architectural redesign, our proprietary technology offers customers a solution to their air conditioning needs which is cheaper to operate, quieter, filters the air, and is easier to install than currently available commercial offerings. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel, rotating air conditioning design which combines the main components of an air conditioner into a single, packaged device to drastically increase air conditioner performance. The roughly one billion air conditioners in operation globally operate at 5-10% of their theoretical ultimate Carnot efficiency, as industry focuses on "first-cost" and has not demonstrated meaningful, radical improvements since the inception of the air conditioner. The current state-of-the-art technology in the HVAC industry is based upon the 'fan plus finned-tube' (FPFT) Heat Exchanger in which a fan blows air across either hot or cold heat exchanger fins. This architecture results in the formation of an insulative 'boundary layer', severely degrading heat exchanger performance. Through the use of one high-efficiency motor, instead of two or three motors commonly found on state-of-the-art technology, our proprietary design rotationally-shears the boundary layer from the surface of the heat exchanger, thereby increasing efficiency while decreasing power consumption. Our research objectives include air conditioner component and system-level validation, supported by three milestones which include Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) performance validation, system reliability through prototype testing, and economic analysis. The tasks involved in our project include design, manufacture, assemble, and testing of a complete system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.