Solar Evaporative Air Handler
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
Start Date
21-5-2015
End Date
21-5-2015
Keywords
Solar, Cooling, HVAC
Abstract
The purpose of any engineering project is to anticipate a need and meet that need through prediction analysis and design. More than 70 percent of the nation’s energy is consumed by building infrastructure such as heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC) systems, electrical, etc. HVAC systems use boilers to generate hot water or steam to heat buildings and evaporative chillers to provide air conditioning, much like the central plant here on campus. The project included the construction of a solar collector that will heat water to 140°F in order to run it through a heat exchanger that can have air passed over it. An evaporative chiller was also designed to harness the latent heat of vaporization to chill a heat exchanger that can then have water passed through it. The circulation pump and any temperature sensors will be powered by a photovoltaic array so that no electricity is needed to power the device. The air from the ducted fan can then be passed over this heat exchanger in order to generate hot air for a room, and the same for the cold air with cold water. Testing will consider input and output water temperature, as well as input and output air temperature, in order to compare the changes and develop a value for efficiency. Initial testing has found that heating water to 140°F can provide enough load in a heat exchanger to provide 85°F leaving air temperature. Water that has been cooled to 40°F by the evaporative chiller can provide a leaving air temperature of 55°F.
Recommended Citation
Budnick, Sam; Dickson, Jeremy; Kluever, Kyle; and Porter, Kevin, "Solar Evaporative Air Handler" (2015). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 41.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2015/constructedobjects/41
Poster Number
26
Department/Program
Engineering Technologies, Safety, & Construction
Additional Mentoring Department
Engineering Technologies, Safety, & Construction
Solar Evaporative Air Handler
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
The purpose of any engineering project is to anticipate a need and meet that need through prediction analysis and design. More than 70 percent of the nation’s energy is consumed by building infrastructure such as heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC) systems, electrical, etc. HVAC systems use boilers to generate hot water or steam to heat buildings and evaporative chillers to provide air conditioning, much like the central plant here on campus. The project included the construction of a solar collector that will heat water to 140°F in order to run it through a heat exchanger that can have air passed over it. An evaporative chiller was also designed to harness the latent heat of vaporization to chill a heat exchanger that can then have water passed through it. The circulation pump and any temperature sensors will be powered by a photovoltaic array so that no electricity is needed to power the device. The air from the ducted fan can then be passed over this heat exchanger in order to generate hot air for a room, and the same for the cold air with cold water. Testing will consider input and output water temperature, as well as input and output air temperature, in order to compare the changes and develop a value for efficiency. Initial testing has found that heating water to 140°F can provide enough load in a heat exchanger to provide 85°F leaving air temperature. Water that has been cooled to 40°F by the evaporative chiller can provide a leaving air temperature of 55°F.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Charles Pringle