Desiccant Cooling Using Unglazed Transpired Solar Collectors

The use of unglazed transpired solar collectors for desiccant regeneration in a solid desiccant cooling cycle was investigated because these collectors are lower in cost than conventional glazed flat-plate collectors. Using computer models, the performance of a desiccant cooling ventilation cycle integrated with either unglazed transpired collectors or conventional glazed flat-plate collectorswas obtained. We found that the thermal performance of the unglazed system was lower than the thermal performance of the glazed system because the unglazed system could not take advantage of the heat of adsorption released during the dehumidification process. For a 3-ton cooling system, although the area required for the unglazed collector was 69% more than that required for the glazedcollector, the cost of the unglazed collector array was 44% less than the cost of the glazed collector array. The simple payback period of the unglazed system was half of the payback period of the glazed collector when compared to an equivalent gas-fired system. Although the use of unglazed transpired collectors makes economic sense, some practical considerations may limit their use in desiccantregeneration.