Low-Flow Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning: General Guidance and Site Considerations

Dehumidification or latent cooling in buildings is an area of growing interest that has been identified as needing more research and improved technologies for higher performance. Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems typically expend excessive energy by using overcool-and-reheat strategies to dehumidify buildings. These systems first overcool ventilation air to removemoisture and then reheat the air to meet comfort requirements. Another common strategy incorporates solid desiccant rotors that remove moisture from the air more efficiently; however, these systems increase fan energy consumption because of the high airside pressure drop of solid desiccant rotors and can add heat of absorption to the ventilation air. Alternatively, liquid desiccantair-conditioning (LDAC) technology provides an innovative dehumidification solution that: (1) eliminates the need for overcooling and reheating from traditional cooling systems; and (2) avoids the increased fan energy and air heating from solid desiccant rotor systems.