Performance Analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger for Solar Hybrid Desiccant Air-Conditioning System

This paper reports the development of a novel solar hybrid desiccant cooling system with heat pipe heat exchanger (HPHE). The aim is to achieve higher efficiency to reduce the use of electricity by utilizing the desiccant dehumidification system to remove latent load, while the vapour-compression and heat pipe heat exchanger meet the sensible load. Novelty comes as the heat pipe heat exchanger in the system operates efficiently without external power. Experimental set-up has been built by combining the rotary desiccant wheel, heat pipe heat exchanger with a compressive cooling system. Tests are carried out at typical operative ranges for air-conditioning applications, specifically for high hot and humid locations in Bangi, Malaysia. Acetone is used as refrigerant in the HPHE. Performance of HPHE are tested and proven to have direct impact on Coefficient of performance (COP). The results shows good performance of heat pipe heat exchanger efficiency with average efficiency and capacity of 0.65 and 2kw respectively. It is found that the hybrid system can achieve a higher energy performance in hot humid regions.