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Io timit
llumidity at Part Loail
By John Murphy, Member ASHRAE as a fixed-plate heat exchanger, coil loop,
or heat pipe), passive or active desiccant
igh humidity levels cqn reduce the quclity of indoor oir, mcke occupsnls uncom-
dehumidification wheels, and dedicated
outdoor air systems (DOAS) can all im-
forloble, ond damoge o building's structure ond furnishings. To avoid problems prove the dehumidification performance
of an HVAC system.1,2 The right choice
sssocioted with high humidity levels, il's importonl fo understsnd how well qn HVAC
for a given proj ect depends on the climate,

syslem will dehumidify Et bpth full loEd ond porr lood. But, part-lood dehumidifica-
building use and configuration, available
budget, and operating cost goals.
lion performonce vsries by system fype ond control strstegy. The focus ofthis article is on the de-
humidifi cation performance of one com-
A previous articlel demonstrated the zone, and dehumidification performance mon type of FIVAC system that is used
challenge of dehumidifying with abasic, suffers. to provide comfort in a range of building
constant volume (CV) system, such as a Fortunately, with proper system de- types and climates-a variable air volume
packaged terminal air conditioner, small sign and control, HVAC systems can (VAV) system.
packaged rooftop unit, small DX split dehumidify better over a wide range of
system, water-source heat pump, or fan- conditions-and do so cost effectively Dehumidifi cation Performonce
coil unit. A basic CV system supplies a and efficiently. Strategies such as multiple- A typical VAV system consists of a
single zone with a constant quantity of speed fan control, variable airflow, reheat central air-handling unit, or packaged
air regardless of the cooling load. As the using heat recovered from the refrig-
sensible cooling load decreases, this sys- eration system (such as hot gas reheat or About the Author
tem delivers ever warmer (and therefore, condenser-water heat recovery), reheat John Murphy is on opplicoiions engineer wiih Trone.
wetter) supply airto avoid overcooling the using an air-to-air heat exchanger (such o business of Ingersoll Rond in Lo Crosse, Wis.

1 8 ASHRAE Journat ashrae.org October 2010 --t

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By continuing to supply cool, dry (low

dew point) air atpafi 1oa4 VAV systems 55.F SAT sO.F 5AT
(Peok DPT) (Pedk FP?)
typically can dehumidif reasonably well 84.F DBT 84"f- DB'f
over a wide range of conditions. This per- 76'F DPt 76.F DFT

formance is often sufficient for many ap- 74"F DBI 74.,F DBT

plications in many climates. However, if

57AA RH 5Cr% Rll

lower indoorhumidity levels are required,

58.F DPT 54.F DPT
*&_
79.F DBI 3t "F DBT pe*k ilpT
several ways to improve the dehumidifi- SA 55'F DBT 50.T DBT .,- - .-",......-.*--, a:a;J cul-v*s -'-"
cation performance of a VAV system will 9OO cfm 690 cfm M&
be discussed later in this article.

SA Temperolure Resel
In many VAV systems, it maY be
tempting to raise the supply air tempera-
ture (SAT) at part-load conditions in an
attempt to save cooling or reheat energy.
But, in non-arid climates, this warmer
supply air results in less dehumidifica-
tion at the coil and higher indoor hu-
midity levels. And, because the supply
air is warmer, those zones that require
cooling will need more air to offset the Figure 3: Dehumidificotion performonce of o cold oir VAV system.
cooling load, which increases supp11'
fan energy.3
Using the same classroom example. il
the supply air temperature is raised from
55'F (i3'C) to 60"F (16'C) on the mild
rainy day, 800 cfm (378 L/s) of supply
air is required to offset the sensible cool-
ing load in the zone. But this warmer
supply air temperature means that the
cooling coil removes less moisture from
the air. As a result, the relative humidity
in the zone rises to 66% (see Figure 2,
Page 19), compared to 60% if SAI reset
is not used.
If dehumidification is a concern, con-
sider either 1) providing an outdoor dew-
point sensor to disable SAI reset when it is
humid outside, or 2) providing one or more
zone humidity sensors to override the SAf
reset sequence if humidity in the zone (or
return air) exceeds a maximum limit. Figure 4: Dedicoted outdoor oir system used with floor-by-floor VAV oir-hqndling units.

lmproving VAV Dehumidifi cqtion
Even thoughVAV systems often dehumidif' reasonably well
over a wide range of conditions, lower indoor humidity levels
are sometimes required. Some ways to improve dehumidifica-
tion performance of a VAV system include:
Colder Supply Air
Lowering the dry-bulb temperature of the air leaving the cool-
ing coil causes more moisture to condense out of the suppiy air'
In a VAV system, this colder, drier supply air results in a drier
zone (lower humidity) at all load conditions.
Figure 3 demonstrates the dehumidification impact of us-
ing a cold-air VAV system for this same example classroom.
In this case, the VAV system is designed to supply air at
50'F (10'C). At the peak dew-point temperature condition,
this zone requires only 690 cfm (326 L/s) of supply air. This
colder, drier supply air results in a zone relative humidity of
50%o, comparcdlo 5lo/o with the conventional (55'F [13'C]
supply air) VAV system.
Another benefit of a cold-air VAV system is reduced supply
airflow, which can allow for the use of smaller air-handling units,
VAV terminals, and ductwork, and can result in significant fan

20 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org October 201 0

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 ralses
added by the adsorption process Full Lood
(Peqk DBT)
the dry-tulb temperature of the supply OA 96.F DBT

airto j5'F (13'C). The wheel rotates

into 76.F WBT

water
the mixed airstream (MA), where RA 74"r DBT
40% RH
passes into
vapor released from the wheel 48"F DPT

the mixed air (MA') and then condenses MA 81.F DBT

the same
on the cold coil surface' Using MA, 76"F DBT
.^u-ple, delivering the supply 60"F DPT
CA
i atadew point of43'F (6'C) results in
"lurrroo- 51.F DBT
so"F DPT
',:-. .-t:J4r="*,-,.,,.*IlHil= eil i{
40% RH in the zone' SA 55.F DBT
al-
Adding the series desiccant wheel 43"F DPT

air (lower
lows the systemto deliver drier
nef; wlino"t requiring a significantly
colder leaving coil temperature-with-
o*,ft" desiccant wheel, the cooling coil
43"F
would need to cool the air to nearly
(6'C) dry bulb to achieve a supply-air
dew Point of43'F (6'C)'
of o series desiccont wheel'
Figure 7: Dehumidificotion performonce
SummorY
rea-
VAV systems tlpically dehumidif,' ficiently dry) to maintain indoor humidity
VAV air-handling unit supplies a\t at
a
of indoor the
sonably well over a wide range usually low enough (suf- levels within a reasonable range'
dew point that is
loads.As long as any zone needs cooling' Avoid using supply air temperature
reset during humid weather' Warmer
supply air means less dehumidiflcation
at'ihe coit and higher humidity levels
fan
in the zone. It also increases supply
energy use-perhaps enough to negate
any cooling energY saved'
fuhen .equited colder suPPlY air' a

dedicated outdoor air system' a drral-path

air-handling unit, or a series desiccant
the
wheel can ali be used to imProve
performance of a VAV
dehumidification
svstem.3 The right approach for
a given
pro3ect depends on climate, building
cost
use, available budget, and operating
goais.

References
l. Murphy, I. 2002' "Dehumidification
p.rtor.urr". of HVAC sYstems " ASHRAE

"Journal
- 44(3):23-31'
i. ttlttptty, J., B. Bradley' 2002' De.htr'
midfficatiLn in HVAC Systems' Applications
manual SYS-APM004-EN' La
"ngi"..ti"g
Wis.: Trane.
-
Crosse,
2009' Chilled-
i.Itl*pLy, J', B. Bakkum
Wa|.er VAi iy stems. Applications engineering
SYS-APM008-EN' La Crosse' Wis':
^u""uf
Trane.
+-t<itt<patrick, A.T', J S E11eson
1996'
System Design Guide'
Cota 'qi, birfibution
-Atlanta:
'i. ASHRAE'
l.l"fnn, R. 2007 "Taking the heat out of
de siccants." 11P,4 C E ngi n e er ing 7 9 (3 ) :20 - 3 4'l
www. i nf o hotr ms com I 30920-28
October 2010
22 ASHRAE Journal