TABLE OF CONTERNTS

ABSTRACT: ....................................................................................................
INTRODUCTION: ...........................................................................................
PROBLEM STATEMENT: ..............................................................................
RESEARCH GOALS: ......................................................................................
LITERATURE REVIEW: ................................................................................
METHODOLOGY: ........................................................................................
DATA COLLECTION: ..................................................................................
RESULTS: .....................................................................................................
DISCUSSION: ................................................................................................
CONCLUSION: .............................................................................................
LIST OF REFERENCES: ...............................................................................
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-Schematic diagram of airflow across a Thermal Wheel in a summer air conditioning system .. 6
Figure 2- Scheme of heat wheel and channel control volume. ................................................................. 7
Figure 3- screenshot of the investigated AHU in the Building Management System (BMS). ................. 8
Figure 4- The schematic diagram of thermal wheel sytem with PV unit.................................................. 8
Figure 5-Rotary thermal wheel with HVAC circut .................................................................................. 9
Figure 6-Primary Energy Use - Building Type Breakdown ................................................................... 10
Figure 7-Comparisons of heat wheel efficiency values for varying rotational speeds ........................... 10
Figure 8-Thermal Wheel Step-1 ............................................................................................................. 11
Figure 9-Thermal Wheel Step-2 ............................................................................................................. 12
Figure 10-Energy Saving (%) and Energy Saving (kW/kg of fresh air) vs. Temperature of
.............................................................................................. 13
Figure 11-Temperature history in 2022 in Riyadh ................................................................................. 14
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1-Thermal wheel step 2 calculations of power saving and carbon footprint. ............................... 14
Table 2-Thermal wheel step 1 calculations of power saving and carbon footprint. ............................... 15
ABSTRACT:
With the global warming issues, it became very important to find practical methods to
reduce carbon emissions. The HVAC system may consume around 60% of total energy
in high raise building. One of the ways to increase the efficiency of HVAC system are
heat exchangers such as thermal wheels. In this research we are looking to the
effectiveness of using multi-step thermal wheel system. Basically we will place of the
thermal wheel before the AHU and the other on after the AHU. We would know that
placing a thermal wheel before the AHU will increase the chiller efficiency
significantly in hot and warm areas since the big temperature difference between the
hot and fresh supply air and the cooled return air, but also we looked into if we add
another thermal wheel step after the AHU, the goal of adding another step in to reduce
the use of EDH by increasing the temperature of the cooled supply air. The result shows
that adding a thermal wheel before the AHU will increase chiller efficiency by 45%
and adding another thermal wheel after the AHU will in increase the EDH efficiency
by 19%. The benefit of adding another step of thermal wheel is increase the power
saving and reduce the carbon footprint by 13% respectively. From adding another step
we can find that the more we add thermal wheel stages the less effective it becomes due
to reduction in temperature difference between the supply and return air.

Keywords: Heat Ventilation and Air Condition (HVAC), Air Handling Unit
(AHU), Electrical Duct Heater (EDH).
INTRODUCTION:
Recently with the global warming rising issues, it became very important to find
solutions to maximize the power efficiency in buildings which directly impact the
environment. In buildings with central cooling systems such as hospitals and hotels the
cooled air needs to be reheated again to be in comfort zone 20 24 °C, duct electrical
heater is used to reheat the cooled air, but in order to reheat the cooled air to the comfort
temperature the electrical duct heater consume a lot of power and therefore increase the
electrical bill and building carbon footprint, which shows the necessity of thermal (heat)
exchanger solutions such as thermal wheels in the building with central cooling system.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:
With the increase of buildings with central cooling system (HVAC) all around the
globe, it became important to find ways to reduce the electrical bill and building carbon
footprint. One of the ways is to use thermal wheel which act like heat exchange system
between the supply fresh air and return air filled with CO2 without mixing physically
between them. The idea of using such a device is to benefit for the cooled return air
without mix it with supply air.

RESEARCH GOALS:
The first goal is to optimize the use of thermal wheel within the HVAC system to
maximize the power efficiency by using custom model to calculate the electrical power
saving. The second goal is to calculate the reduction of the CO2 emissions after using
the thermal wheel.

LITERATURE REVIEW:
As a result of urbanization, rising human living standards, and global warming, there is
a gradual increase in the need for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. HVAC
systems are primarily used in buildings to maintain the thermal comfort of the
occupants, and they account for about 40% of global energy consumption. Additionally,
the HVAC systems in commercial buildings use between 40% and 60% of the total
energy consumed by the structures. To maintain the Indoor Air Quality values set by
the standards, fresh air must be supplied to conditioned spaces. In harsh environmental
circumstances, there is a greater demand for fresh air, which increases the energy
needed for air conditioning. A method that holds promise for lowering HVAC system
energy use is the use of thermal wheels, which, unless otherwise wasted, can be used
to recover the energy contained in the return air. When compared to other energy
recovery devices, it demonstrates appealing energy savings and payback times. CFD
modeling work has been done in this study to look at the thermal wheel's heat-
exchanging properties. Additionally, an experimental program has been carried out to
verify the CFD modeling work. The performance of the thermal wheel at various
rotational speeds has been examined using the verified CFD model. In the study, a
thermal wheel temperature contour was found. Additionally, it is advised to rotate the
heat wheels between 10 and 30 RPM. Moreover, it was found that the geometry of the
wheel matrix affects this optimum RPM. (H.M.D.P. & others, 2022)

Due to the potential for major energy savings in both new construction and building
renovation projects, air to air heat wheel are essential components of mechanical
ventilation systems. Due to their excellent effectiveness and low pressure drop. This
research does a thorough optimization of heat wheel design parameters to enhance
reasonable efficacy and reduce pressure drop. In order to estimate pressure drop, the
analysis is conducted using a one-dimensional lumped parameter heat wheel model that
has been validated. The key design factors and operation circumstances are varied in
order to optimize the device: length, base, height, thickness, air face velocity, and
revolution speed of the wheel. (De Antonellis & others, 2014)
The use of air conditioning systems is expanding in European countries as a result of
the hotter summers brought on by climate change. It is very important to find new
technical direct cooling methods to lower the energy demand and consumption of these
systems. In this research study, a field investigation is done on the cooling energy
performance of an active ventilation system installed on the flat roof of a shopping mall
in the Hungarian city of Eger. An air-to-air rotary heat wheel, a mixing box element,
and a direct expansion cooling coil are all parts of the running system, which circulates
cooled air to a shop's back office and storage area. The study's goal was to examine the
thermal characteristics of each component separately in order to get precise scientific
conclusions on energy usage. Additionally, the cross-contamination of carbon dioxide
in the heat wheel, the main flaw in this kind of heat recovery unit was also examined.
To do this, a temperature, humidity, air velocity, and carbon dioxide sensor was
installed in the inlet and outlet section of each component that affects the cooling
process, as well as an electricity energy meter in the outdoor unit. A network monitor
interface was created using building management system-based software to offer
continuous data recording and remote monitoring of air handling parameters and system
energy usage. In comparison to the system without a heat wheel, the energy impact of
the heat wheel led to a 624 kWh energy savings and a 25.1% energy savings rate for
the outside unit's electric energy consumption over the course of the cooling period.
When taking into account the entire cooling season, the CO2 cross-contamination level
in the heat wheel was estimated to be an average value of 16.4%.(Kassai, 2019)
In 2018 the world CO2 emissions grew by 1.7% to 33.1 Gigaton of CO2, which is the
fastest growth in the last decade. Using solar panels is promising solution but with the
increase of solar panel temperature its efficiency become less, this problem can be
reduced by absorbing the excess heat of the solar panels using heat recovery wheel. The
external air stream enters the HRW where it is precooled by exchanging heat with the
exhaust air from the building. After that, the exhaust air enters the BIPV/T collector
where it cools the PV panels, increasing their effectiveness as shown in picture-1. The
parameters the effect the efficiency of this system are duct size, flow rate, heat recovery
wheel size and heat recovery wheel speed. This research shows that there are many
variables and methods of system optimization each based on many factor. (Shahsavar
& Khanmohammadi, 2020)
4-
In order to provide the necessary thermal comfort for occupants, buildings in hot and
humid regions spend more than 60% of the total energy cost for Air Conditioning and
Mechanical Ventilation Systems (ACMV). With the need for fresh air in the
conditioned room, the necessary air conditioning load dramatically rises, which results
in exorbitant energy expenditures for buildings' central air conditioning systems,
especially in hot and humid regions. As a result, the main objective of this study is to
investigate and assess whether a rotational thermal wheel may be used to recover energy
from the return air of an air handling unit (AHU) that operates central air conditioning
The percentage of energy saved by the rotational thermal wheel rises as external fresh
air temperature and relative humidity rise and as the central chiller's Coefficient of
Performance (COP) drops. Furthermore, research study shows that, depending on the
fresh air mass flow rate, the simple payback period of a building that receives 20% fresh
air can range from 1.1 years to 4 years. According to the findings, it is strongly advised
to use rotational thermals in hot, humid areas.(Herath & others, 2022)

(Herath & others, 2022)

In the USA the energy use for HVAC is around 25% of commercial buildings
consumptions, breakthrough in HVAC field had been achieved such as centrifugal
chiller has increased 34%. This study focus on energy consumptions using HVAC
system. The design of HVAC systems has been impacted by the rise in indoor air
quality demands. With the increased on out door fresh air have led to develop heat
exchanger system such as thermal wheel, thermal wheel had gain increased acceptance
with its affordable price. Figure 6 below displays the distribution of energy use by
building type.(Westphalen, 2001)
Heat (thermal) wheel is one of the heat exchanger systems which mostly used in HVAC
system. The goals of using the thermal wheel, energy recovery and air
dehumidification. The scope of this study is to see the energy recovery performance
using CFD of thermal wheel at three different angular velocities. The study shows that
efficiency of the heat wheels is strongly influenced by thermal wheel angular speed, the
efficiency of the wheel can reach 58% at 10 rpm as shown in figure 7. (Sozen & Ciftci,
2019)
METHODOLOGY:
I developed mathematical model to see the impact on CO2 emissions and power
consumption by using multi-Steps thermal wheel with the hot supply air and cooled
supply air.
The idea is to use data from other researches which discuss individual ideas of using of
thermal wheel in citrine part of HVAC system. I combined these ideas and methods
using multi-stages thermal wheel to see if we can reach a better reduction in electrical
bill and carbon footprint and if so does it worth it.

Step-1
In this step thermal wheel shall act as heat exchanger between the returned cooled air
filled with CO2 and cooled supply air coming from AHU. In this case supply cooled
air is very cooled below 13 degree Celsius and the return air is between 29-35 degree
Celsius. So based on that and the amount of flow we can calculate the raise in supply
air temperature after the thermal wheel. The raise of the temperature of supply air will
help a lot in minimizing the use of electrical heater when necessary, therefore it will
save the electricity and reduce carbon footprint.(Wang & Song, 2012)

Step-2
Same methodology as step-1 but this time the heat exchange is between the exhausted
returned air from step-1 and the supply fresh hot air from outside the building. This step
will help with the consumption of the cooling machine used in the HVAC system.
assuming the building use 1 million CFM we will see the impact of step 1 and step 2
on electrical bill and carbon footprint in Saudi Arabia.

The main basic Heat Exchanger equation is

Where
A = Heat transfer area (m²) (ft²)
Q = Heat transfer rate (kJ/h) (Btu\h)
U = Overall heat transfer coefficient (kJ/h.m².°C) (Btu/h°F)
= Log mean temperature difference (°C) (°F).

Required Power based on flow and temperature equation is

P = (F

Where
P = Power (Kw)
F = Flow (CFM)
= Temperature Difference (°C) (°F).
DATA COLLECTION:
HVAC system consume 10 to 20% of total energy consumption in developed countries
(K. Alghoul, 2017). Which is around 40 to 60% of the total energy consumption by the
buildings (H.M.D.P. 2022). Sensible wheels will be use in this study, mainly sensible
wheels transfer sensible heat between fresh and exhaust air streams without mix them
together. The thermal wheel efficiency is around 50 to 80 %.
We will use the data from H.M.D.P. Herath research, "Applicability of rotary thermal
wheels to hot and humid climates". they use the thermal wheel before the AHU and
they get result as per Figure 10.

I will use same concept with the same equation they used, but this time with two step
thermal wheel one as the referenced research (before AHU) and the other after AHU
and confirmed the result together to see how much it's worthy to use multi-step thermal
wheel system. We will consider the outside air conditions in Riyadh Saudi Arabia in
the summer season at 39 °C as shown in Figure 11, and supply air temperature at 13 °C
(Wang & Song, 2012).
RESULTS:
In this section we will show various type of results of using multi-step thermal wheel
related to the subject such as thermal wheel efficiency and energy saving potential and
its impact on the electrical bill and carbon footprint in Saudi Arabia.

If we looked again to figure 10 the relation between the energy saving (%) and energy

is linear relation that means we can estimate the energy saving of the step-2 in our
design, assuming the building use 1 million CFM. so based on that find the flowing
results in Table 1.

Parameter Value Unit Note

Outside Air Temp. 39.00 °C
Cost of kW in Saudi Arabia 0.26 SAR/kWh
Step 2 Energy Saving of Chiller 2.30 kW/kg Return Air at
25 °C
Step 2 Energy Saving of Chiller 45.00 % Return Air at
25 °C
Air Weight in 400 CFM 1,000.00 Kg
Air Weight in 1 Million CFM 2,500,000.00 Kg
Step 2 Energy Saving for 1 5,750,000.00 kW/1 million
Million CFM CFM
Estimated Saving 1,477,750.00 SAR/1 million
CFM
Estimated Reduction in Carbon 1,214,000.00
footprint
As stated before thermal wheel in step 1 is used to minimize the use of duct electrical
heater inside the building we calculated the power consumption of using electrical
heater by equation P = (F . Since the returned air is 25 °C and supply air is
13 °C, then the = 12 °C, F = 1 Million CFM. So P = 3,798 kW without using thermal
wheel step 1, that means if we use the thermal wheel step 1 the will be less which
will translate to less energy consumption.
In step 2 the = 14 °C and based on Figure 10 we estimated the power saving and
reduction in carbon footprint of step 2, we did the same with step 1 and the result of
step 1 as follows in Table 2.

Parameter Value Unit Note

Supply Air Temp. 13 °C
Cost of kW in Saudi Arabia SAR/kWh
0.26
Step 1 Energy Saving of Heater 0.3 kW/kg Return Air at
25 °C
Step 1 Energy Saving of Heater 19 % Return Air at
25 °C
Air Weight in 400 CFM Kg
1,000.00
Air Weight in 1 Million CFM Kg
2,500,000.00
Step 1 Energy Saving for 1 kW/1 million
Million CFM 750,000.00 CFM
Estimated Saving SAR/1 million
192,750.00 CFM
Estimated Reduction in Carbon
158347.8
footprint

DISCUSSION:
If we compare the power saving from step 1 in comparing to step 2, we will find there
is an extra 13% power saving and an extra 13% less carbon footprint. So, since the
energy consumption of HVAC system is around 6% worldwide. 13% power saving and
less carbon footprint is significant. (Westphalen, 2001)

CONCLUSION:
The main finding here is using the thermal wheel helps with the energy saving and
reduce carbon footprint. But the more we increase the number of thermal wheel stages
the less effective it becomes due to reduction in temperature difference between the
supply and return air.
LIST OF REFERENCES:
De Antonellis, S., Intini, M., Joppolo, C., & Leone, C. (2014). Design
Optimization of Heat Wheels for Energy Recovery in HVAC Systems.
Energies, 7(11), 7348 7367. https://doi.org/10.3390/en7117348
Herath, H. M. D. P., Wickramasinghe, M. D. A., Polgolla, A. M. C. K.,
Jayasena, A. S., Ranasinghe, R. A. C. P., & Wijewardane, M. A. (2020).
Applicability of rotary thermal wheels to hot and humid climates. Energy
Reports, 6, 539 544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.11.116
H.M.D.P., H., R.A.C.P., R., & M.A., W. (2022). Analysis of Heat
Exchanging Performance of Rotary Thermal Wheels.
K. Alghoul, S. (2017). A Comparative Study of Energy Consumption for
Residential HVAC Systems Using EnergyPlus. American Journal of
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 2(2), 98.
https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmie.20170202.16
Kassai, M. (2019). Energy Performance Investigation of a Direct
Expansion Ventilation Cooling System with a Heat Wheel. Energies,
12(22), 4267. https://doi.org/10.3390/en12224267
Shahsavar, A., & Khanmohammadi, S. (2020). Energy and economic
evaluation and multicriteria optimization of different arrangements of
integrated photovoltaic thermal and heat recovery wheel system.
International Journal of Energy Research, 44(3), 1488 1505.
https://doi.org/10.1002/er.4899
Sozen, A., & Ciftci, E. (2019). Determination of Optimum Rotational
Speed of the Heat Wheel through Computational Fluid Dynamics
Simulation. 12.
Wang, G., & Song, L. (2012). Air handling unit supply air temperature
optimal control during economizer cycles. Energy and Buildings, 49,
310 316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.02.024
Westphalen, D. ( ). Chillers, Refrigerant Compressors, and Heating
Systems. 72.