Impact of summer office set air-conditioning temperature on energy consumption and thermal comfort

To explore the relationship between summer office set air-conditioning temperature and energy consumption related to air conditioning use to provide human thermal comfort,a comparison experiment was conducted in three similar offices at temperatures of 24,26 and 28 ℃ respectively. A thermal comfort questionnaire survey was conducted. It is demonstrated that air-conditioner energy consumption at the set temperature of 28 ℃ is 113% and 271% lower than at 26 ℃ and 24 ℃,respectively. A linear relationship exists between air-conditioner energy consumption and the indoor and outdoor temperature difference. When comfortably dressed,over 80% of research participants accept the set temperature of 28 ℃. The regression analysis leads to a neutral temperature of 26.2 ℃ and an acceptable temperature of 28.2 ℃ for over 80% of the research participants subjects,indicating that the current 26 ℃ set temperature for offices in summer,required by Chinese General Office of the State Council,can be increased to 28 ℃. Moreover,analysis of predicted mean vote(PMV) index shows that a set temperature of 27 ℃,not 26 ℃,is sufficiently comfortable for office staff wearing long-sleeve shirts,long pants and leather shoes.

Entropy Assessment on Environmental Influence of Condense Heat in Recovery System in Air-Conditioning Refrigerating Machine

This paper presented an entropy evaluation method for the influences of condense heat recovery system on the environment.Aiming at the damage of the condense heat to the environment,an entropy of resource loss and an emission entropy from the condense heat recovery system in the air conditioning refrigerating machine were introduced.For the evaluation of the entropies,we developed a new algorithm for the parameter identification,called the composite influence coefficient,based on the Least Squares Support Vector Machine method.By simulation,the numerical experiments shows that the Least Squares Support Vector Machine method is one of the powerful methods for the parameter identification to compute the damage entropy of the condense heat,with the largest training error being-0.025(the relative error being-3.56%),and the biggest test error being 0.015(the relative error being 2.5%).

Selection of Weather Parameters for Air-Conditioning System Design for Buildings with Long Thermal Lag

Two building factors-a longer thermal lag of more than one hour for building envelops and a lag of indoor radiation to convert into cooling load-have impact on the instantaneous heat input and instantaneous cooling load.So the two factors should be taken into account when selecting the weather parameters for air-conditioning system design.This paper developed a new statistic method for the rational selection of coincident solar irradiance,dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures.The method was applied to historic weather records of 25 years in Hong Kong to generate coincident design weather data.And the results show that traditional design solar irradiance,dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures may be significantly overestimated in many conditions,and the design weather data for the three different constructions is not kept constant.

The Experiment and Simulation of Solid Desiccant Dehumidification for Air-Conditioning System in a Tropical Humid Climate

The aim of this research was to study and design a solid desiccant dehumidification system suitable for tropical climate to reduce the latent load of air-conditioning system and improve the thermal comfort. Different dehumidifiers such as desiccant column and desiccant wheel were investigated. The ANSYS and TRASYS software were used to predict the results of dehumidifiers and the desiccant cooling systems, respectively. The desiccant bed contained approximately 15 kg of silica-gel, with 3 mm average diameter. Results indicated that the pressure drop and the adsorption rate of desiccant column are usually higher than those of the desiccant wheel. The feasible and practical adsorption rate of desiccant wheel was 0.102 kgw/h at air flow rate 1.0 kg/min, regenerated air temperature of 55?C and at a wheel speed of 2.5 rpm. The humidity ratio of conditioning space and cooling load of split-type air conditioner was decreased to 0.002 kgw/kgda (14%) and 0.71 kWth (19.26%), respectively. Consequently, the thermal comfort was improved from 0.5 PMV (10.12% PPD) to 0.3 PMV (7.04% PPD).

An Energy-Saving Control Strategy on Central Air-Conditioning System

An energy-saving control strategy based on predictive control for central air-conditioning systems is proposed in this paper. The cold load model is developed to describe the dynamic characteristics of temperature control systems, and then parameters in the cold load model and in the central air-conditioning system model are estimated. Generalized predictive control (GPC) is used to establish an optimization model to minimize the consumption of energy and the control error of temperature. The simulated annealing (SA) algorithm, combined with quadratic programming, is adopted to solve the optimal problem. Contrasted with the simulation of traditional PID control, the results prove the effectiveness of this proposed strategy.

Application of Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation to Air-conditioning Competitive Power Analysis

As the conceptual design of air-conditioning is done using the theory of Quality Function Deployment (QFD),cus- tomer requirements should be understood and the product competitive power be analyzed as exactly as possible for new product de- signing.Lots of information in the process of this research is fuzzy and uncertain,but traditional QFD can not deal with it well. Fuzzy theory can solve the problem.So a fuzzy model for analyzing product competitive power is formulated in this paper to im- prove traditional QFD,after that it is applied to analyze air-conditioning competitive power.When air-conditioning competitive power is analyzed using this model,firstly the importance weight of the customer requirements o fair-conditioning is determined us- ing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) weighting process,then air-conditloning competitive power is evaluated using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation.It is proved that the model is feasible and has good applicability.

Experimental Study of Energy-Saving Air-Conditioner with Hot Water

Energy-saving air-conditioner with hot water is an air source heat pump air-conditioner,which can also supply hot water.The hot water is heated by a double pipe condenser connected with an air-cooled condenser in series in the system.This experiment of the energy-saving air-conditioner was carried out in the enthalpy-difference air-conditioner laboratory.The hot water temperature and the compressor's discharge and suction pressure were recorded in the working condition,where the ambient temperature was at 43 ℃,35 ℃,21 ℃,7 ℃,and 2 ℃ separately.The results showed that the system operated stably and reliably.This system can supply 240 L hot water at 50 ℃ in the whole year,and its coefficience of performance(COP)is much higher than the conventional air source heat pump system.Its energy conservation was proved by comparing the thermal efficiency with other sourece water heaters.

Application of Dual Throttling Air-Conditioning System to Explosion-Proof Frequency Converter

An explosion-proof dual throttling air-conditioning system was put forward to solve the heat dissipation and internal dewing problems of explosion-proof frequency converter in the underground coal mine. This study investigated the feasibility and benefits of explosion-proof dual throttling cooling and dehumidification air-conditioning system applied to the explosion-proof frequency converter. The physical model of dual throttling air-conditioning system was established and its performance parameter was described by mathematical method. The design calculation of the system has also been done. The experimental result showed that the system reached the steady state at the refrigeration mode after running 45 min, and the maximum internal temperature of the flame-proof cavity was 31.0 ℃. The system reached the steady state at the dehumidification mode after running 37 min. The maximum internal relative humidity and temperature of the flame-proof cavity were 33.4% and 36.3 ℃, respectively. Therefore, the proposed system had excellent ability of heat dissipation and avoided internal dewing. Compared with water cooling system, it was more energy-saving and economical. The airflow field of dual throttling air-conditioning system was also studied by CFD simulation. It was found that the result of CFD numerical simulation was highly consistent with the experimental data.

Simulation of Artificial Intelligence for Automotive Air-conditioning System

The artificial intelligence is applied to the simulation of the automotive air-conditioning system ( AACS )According to the system's characteristics a model of AACS, based on neural network, is developed. Different control methods of AACS are discussed through simulation based on this model. The result shows that the neural- fuzzy control is the best one compared with the on-off control and conventional fuzzy control method.It can make the compartment's temperature descend rapidly to the designed temperature and the fluctuation is small.

Analysis of Solar Direct-Driven Organic Rankine Cycle Powered Vapor Compression Cooling System Combined with Electric Motor for Office Building Air-Conditioning

Solar energy powered organic Rankine cycle vapor compression cycle(ORC-VCC)is a good alternative to convert solar heat into a cooling effect.In this study,an ORC-VCC system driven by solar energy combined with electric motor is proposed to ensure smooth operation under the conditions that solar radiation is unstable and discontinuous,and an office building located in Guangzhou,China is selected as a case study.The results show that beam solar radiation and generation temperature have considerable effects on the system performance.There is an optimal generation temperature at which the system achieves optimum performance.Also,as a key indicator,the cooling power per square meter collector should be considered in the hybrid solar cooling system in design process.Compared to the vapor compression cooling system,the hybrid cooling system can save almost 68.23%of electricity consumption.

Research on the Arrangement of Dew Point Temperature Detectors of Capillary Plane Radiation Air-Conditioning

Based on analysis of the reason and process of condensation on ceiling radiant cooling panels, two kinds of arrangement of detectors are put forward. The physical model is established, the results show that detectors are arranged as the form of triangle is more suitable. It can not only satisfy the use requirement but also it is economical and practical. Finally we can conclude that the inlet water temperature 0.5°C higher than dew point temperature is safe and reliable.

Analysis of Fresh Air Volume of Air-conditioning System for Railway Vehicles

The relevant standard requirements both in domestic and abroad provide the basis for designing air-conditioning system of railway vehicles present. However, there are great differences in the fresh air volume indicators among different standards requirements, and the requirements of each vehicle procurement contracts are also different. The design of air-conditioning become difficult above these. In this paper, the fresh air volume of different type railway vehicles is analyzed from health and equipment electricity consumption according to the railway vehicles air-conditioning system standard requirements in domestic and abroad. Some advises for designing air-conditioning system of railway vehicles through the fresh air volume calculation and comparison for domestic air-conditioning system of railway vehicles was provided.

Performance of a Phase Change Material Battery in a Transparent Building

This research evaluates the performance of a Phase Change Material(PCM)battery integrated into the climate system of a new transparent meeting center.The main research questions are:a.“Can the performance of the battery be calculated?”and b.“Can the battery reduce the heating and cooling energy demand in a significant way?”The first question is answered in this document.In order to be able to answer the second question,especially the way the heat loading in winter should be improved,then more research is necessary.In addition to the thermal battery,which consists of Phase Change Material plates,the climate system has a cross-flow heat exchanger and a heat pump.The battery should play a central role in closing the thermal balance of the lightweight building,which can be loaded with hot return or cold outdoor air.The temperature of the battery plates is monitored by multi-sensors and simulated by the use of PHOENICS(Computational Fluid Dynamics)and MATLAB.This paper reports reasonable agreement between the numerical predictions and the measurements,with a maximum variance of 10%.The current coefficient of performance for heating and cooling is already high,more than 27.There is scope for increasing this much further by making use of the very low-pressure difference of the battery(below 25 Pascal),low pressure fans and the ventilation system as a whole.

A fully distributed robust optimal control approach for air-conditioning systems considering uncertainties of communication link in IoT-enabled building automation systems

Internet of Things(IoT)technologies are increasingly implemented in buildings as the cost-effective smart sens-ing infrastructure of building automation systems(BASs).They are also dispersed computing resources for novel distributed optimal control approaches.However,wireless communication networks are critical to fulfill these tasks with the performance influenced by inherent uncertainties in networks,e.g.,unpredictable occurrence of link failures.Centralized and hierarchical distributed approaches are vulnerable against link failure,while the robustness of fully distributed approaches depends on the algorithms adopted.This study therefore proposes a fully distributed robust optimal control approach for air-conditioning systems considering uncertainties of com-munication link in IoT-enabled BASs.The distributed algorithm is adopted that agents know their out-neighbors only.Agents directly coordinate with the connected neighbors for global optimization.Tests are conducted to test and validate the proposed approach by comparing with existing approaches,i.e.,the centralized,the hierarchical distributed and the fully distributed approaches.Results show that different approaches are vulnerable against to uncertainties of communication link to different extents.The proposed approach always guarantees the optimal control performance under normal conditions and conditions with link failures,verifying its high robustness.It also has low computation complexity and high optimization efficiency,thus applicable on IoT-enabled BASs.

Experimental Study of Air Conditioning Unit of Evaporative Cooling Assisted Mechanical Refrigeration

The evaporative cooling,which assists the refrigeration machinery air-conditioning systems test-rig,has been designed.Its structure and working principle were described,and the performance test was conducted and analyzed.The test shows that making full use of the evaporative cooling "free cooling" in Spring and Autumn seasons can fully meet the requirements of air-conditioned comfort through the switch of the function in different seasons.Taking into account the evaporative cooling fan and pump energy consumption,compared with the traditional mechanical refrigeration system,more than 80 percent of energy can be saved,and the energy efficiency ratio of the Unit(EER)is as high as 7.63.Using the two stages of indirect evaporative cooling to pre-cool the new wind in summer,under the conditions of the same air supply temperature requirements,0.83 kg/s chilled water saved can be equivalent to the traditional mechanical refrigeration system,and when the new wind ratio up to 50 percent,more than 10 percent load was reduced in mechanical refrigeration system.The overall EER increased about 35 percent.

Thermal Management of Vehicle Cabins,External Surfaces,and Onboard Electronics:An Overview

Reducing heat accumulation within vehicles and ensuring appropriate vehicular temperature levels can lead to enhanced vehicle fuel economy,range,reliability,longevity,passenger comfort,and safety.Advancements in vehicle thermal management remain key as new technologies,consumer demand,societal concerns,and government regulations emerge and evolve.This study summarizes several recent advances in vehicle thermal management technology and modeling,with a focus on three key areas:the cabin,electronics,and exterior components of vehicles.Cabin-related topics covered include methods for reducing thermal loads and improving heating,ventilation,and air-conditioning(HVAC)systems;and advancements in window glazing/tinting and vehicle surface treatments.For the thermal management of electronics,including batteries and insulated-gate bipolar transistors(IGBTs),active and passive cooling methods that employ heat pipes,heat sinks,jet impingement,forced convection,and phase-change materials are discussed.Finally,efforts to model and enhance the heat transfer of exterior vehicular components are reviewed while considering drag/friction forces and environmental effects.Despite advances in the field of vehicle thermal management,challenges still exist;this article provides a broad summary of the major issues,with recommendations for further study.

Cool storage time of phase change wallboard room in summer

More and more attention was paid to phase change energy storage in air conditioning domain and construction energy conservation,and became the focus of the international research. Through the test and analysis of the parameters of the indoor thermal property in phase change wallboard room and ordinary room,the effects of using phase change wallboards on indoor temperature in summer and air conditioning are obtained. The combination of construct enclosure and phase change materials can stabilize indoor temperature,improve indoor thermal comfort,reduce the frequency of the operation of air conditioning facility,cut the initial investment and operation expense,and meanwhile play an practical role in "the power balancing between the peak period and the valley period" policy. Through the experiment and the test of the effects exerted by phase change wallboard room and ordinary room on the indoor thermal environment,it is obtained that the phase change wallboard can reduce the fluctuation range of indoor temperature and the heat flow from the outside into indoor environment in summer. According to the study,it is found that the effect of cool-storing for 5 h is obvious. Through the analysis of the phase change wallboard without air conditioning in daytime,it is obtained that the frequency of the operation of air conditioning in phase change wallboard room is smaller than that in the ordinary room,which can prolong the lifetime of the facility and reduce operation expense.

Energy Efficiency in Building: Case of Buildings at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Nigeria today faces serious challenge in providing adequate energy to meet the needs of her citizenry. Efforts are currently geared towards generation of more energy to ease the problem. While these efforts are commendable, it is equally desirable to explore ways to minimize consumption of generated energy. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of building orientation on energy demand in buildings. This paper considered the use of standard design considerations, fundamental cooling load equations and the guidelines stipulated by the American Society of Heating, Cooling and Air conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The study takes the designs of three buildings within the University of Ibadan, Nigeria into consideration with the view to harness the energy saving potentials through building orientation and selection of efficient cooling equipment. The results obtained were 155.34, 224.75, 86.35 kW and 163.60, 232.04 and 90.64 kW for the three lecture envelopes including the Faculty of Science, CBN and the Department of Chemistry lecture theatres using the North-South and East-West building orientations respectively. Increase in energy demand of 7.96, 7.29 and 4.29 kW was thus obtained with the East-West building orientation over North-South. Energy efficiency is thus guaranteed with North-South building orientation.

Using GIS and Kriging to Analyze the Spatial Distributions of the Health Risk of Indoor Air Pollution

Kriging is an interpolation technique that is used to estimate a variable at an unmeasured location from observed values at nearer locations. In this study, it is used to analyze the spatial distributions of the health risk of indoor air pollution. The study case is an air-conditioned office building that has 16 floors, located in Taipei, Taiwan. The Kriging method is used in drawing health risk maps on the basis of limited sample points and facilitates investigating the possible source of pollution.

Improvement of Hydrogen Storage Properties of La0.6M0.4Ni4.8Mn0.2 Alloys

Investigation has been carried out to find the effects of Nd substitution and Cu addition on the hydrogen storage properties of AB5-type alloy with a multicomponent La0.6M0.4Ni4.8Mn0.2 (M=Y, Nd) system. La0.6Y0.4Ni4.8Mn0.2, which was used in an air-conditioning system, showed poor hysteresis and sloping characteristics, which led to a decrease concerning the coefficient of performance of the system. By the substitution of Nd for Y, the hydrogen storage capacity increased, and the plateau pressure decreased a little, but the hydrogen absorption kinetics decreased dramatically. Cu addition can effectively improve the kinetics of hydride formation without changing the hydrogen storage capacity of La0.6Nd0.4Ni4.8Mn0.2. It has been found that La0.6Nd0.4Ni4.8Mno0.2Cu0.1 alloy showed good hydrogen storage characteristics for metal hydride air-conditioning system. The results showed that, for each component of La0.6M0.4Ni4.8Mn0.2. the effective hydrogen storage capacity increased with decrease of the unit cell parameter c/a and the hydrogen absorption plateau pressure increased with decrease of the parameter a.