Heat pipe application for energy efficient air-conditioning in an animal care facility

Abstract

The energy penalty associated with the conditioning of large quantities of outdoor air in hot and humid climates is well known. The problem is even more challenging when the application involved requires 100% outdoor air. This is the case in an animal care facility, which houses different species of animals that are used for laboratory experiments in the field of life sciences. In such cases, it is crucial that energy conserving HVAC systems be explored. Heat pipe technology offers considerable benefits in the form of excellent humidity control as well as improved overall system energy efficiency. Heat pipes (HP) are flexible and passive systems that are effective in terms of thermal control, primarily from the perspective of energy efficient dehumidifying performance of a cooling coil. A key feature of the HP is to transfer a large amount of energy over its length with a small temperature drop through liquid evaporation in the evaporator section of the HP (heat source), vapour condensation in the condenser (heat sink) and liquid movement in the opposite direction inside a wick by capillary force. This paper reports the findings of a study involving heat pipes integrated with a conventional cooling coil in an animal care facility in Singapore. The parameters investigated include the indoor thermal conditions (temperature and relative humidity) and the cooling coil consumed in providing these conditions.