Performance study of a heat pump fresh air unit based on desiccant coated heat exchangers under different operation strategies

Fresh air system is getting more and more important nowadays. The heat pump fresh air system based on the desiccant coated heat exchanger (DCHE) that can handle the latent and sensible load of fresh air efficiently has a large energy saving potential. To improve the performance of the heat pump fresh air system based on DCHE, in this paper, a control system based on PLC is established and the operation strategies of the system are investigated. An operation strategy including automatic control of the opening of the electronic expansion valve based on the suction superheat of the compressor, control of the switchover period based on the relative humidity of supply air, and control of compressor frequency based on evaporation and condensation temperature is established. By using the optimal operation strategies, the dehumidification rate and COP of the system can reach 4.42 kg/h and 6.2 in summer, compared with the unoptimized strategy it increased 8% and 25%, respectively. The two performance indices can reach to 3.04 kg/h and 6.98, with an increase of 89% and 78%.