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The following article was published in ASHRAE Journal, March 2004.

Copyright 2004 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers, Inc. It is presented for educational purposes only. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE.

Energy Savings For Rooftop AC


By Detlef Westphalen, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE

New Approach to

wo of the most important HVAC industry issues are energy efficiency and latent capacity. ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.11999, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, set new standards for the minimum energy efficiency ratios (EERs) of unitary air-conditioning equipment in the commercial capacity range. The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992 stipulated that these proposed energy levels would become mandatory, subject to a review by the U.S. Department of Energy. Even though that review is not complete, availability and sales of units with higher efficiencies have increased to reflect the changes in Standard 90.1.

Prior to 1999, a standard efficiency 10ton (35 kW) unit had an EER of 9.0. Today, a unit compliant with Standard 90.1-1999 has an EER of at least 10.1. However, EER is not the full story regarding seasonal energy use of an air-conditioning unit. The industry also has established an integrated part load value (IPLV), a weighted average of efficiencies for each
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capacity stage, which is intended to be a better indication of seasonal energy use. However, even the IPLV is not the full story regarding seasonal energy use. Since tests for both EER and IPLV involve 100% recirculating operation, these numbers do not capture the impact of outdoor air and the different ways that outdoor air can be conditioned. The airconditioning unit discussed in this paashrae.org

per incorporated design features intended to reduce seasonal energy use while it achieved good EER (10.8) and IPLV (14.1), it saved significant energy in a field test as compared with a conventional unit with the same EER. In the area of latent capacity, outdoor ventilation rates, which are prescribed by ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, have been increasing in many cases. This trend has increased the proportion of the cooling load associated with moisture removal (the latent load) in non-arid climates. The reductions in sensible air-conditioning loads that result from using more efficient lighting, improved building materials, and other factors have contributed to increased importance of the latent load. Conventional unitary air-conditioning equipment has a sensible heat ratio
About the Author Detlef Westphalen, Ph.D., is an associate principal with TIAX in Cambridge, Mass.

March 2004

The Florida Solar Energy Centers Building Science Laboratory, site of the field test of the prototype rooftop unit.

(SHR) that is typically in the range 70% to 75% at standard ARI rating conditions. In many operating scenarios, the equipment latent capacity is insufficient to adequately dehumidify the air. Since air-conditioning units generally are controlled by thermostats, which respond to sensible loads, the result is excess humidity in the building space. This situation is exacerbated by the tendency of the condensed moisture that remains on the evaporator coil after the compressors cycle off to re-evaporate since the fan must run continuously to provide the required minimum outdoor airflow.1 A number of technology options are available to treat moisture loads that exceed the levels typically handled by standard unitary equipment. The available options and those being developed represent a range of sophistication and efficiency. They include reduced airflow, electric reheat, hot gas reheat, hot liquid reheat,2 heat pipes,3 evaporator bypass, passive energy recovery (passive desiccants, membrane), variable air volume (VAV), active desiccant systems (solid and liquid), and Cromer cycle.4 The system design described in this article is an innovative combination of passive energy recovery and VAV intended to be cost effective, energy efficient, and flexible in a broad range of applications requiring low to medium outdoor airflow rates (i.e., offices, retail, etc.). The project described here addresses improvement of energy efficiency and performance of unitary air-conditioning equipment, an equipment category that is used for cooling in
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roughly three-quarters of commercial building floor space. TIAX was awarded a DOE contract to develop the proposed energy-efficient air conditioner, with Aaon as the manufacturing partner. While the projects main focus was delivering maximum energy savings benefits at a minimum cost premium, the increasing importance of moisture control in all commercial air-conditioned environments made the focus on this issue also necessary.
Analysis Phase

The project started with examination of energy and cost characteristics of options for reducing energy use. These options included improvement in all key components (compressors, indoor blower, condenser fan, blower and fan motors, heat exchangers), use of a zero-superheat variable expansion valve, total energy recovery for outdoor air, and mechanical subcooling. We purchased a popular 1999-vintage 10-ton (35 kW) standard-efficiency (9-EER) rooftop unit to examine typical design details and for teardown in support of our manufacturing cost analysis. We established a baseline definition of a rooftop unit that closely mirrored the teardown unit, except in the following key areas. R-410A refrigerant rather than HCFC-22; TXV refrigerant control rather than fixed orifices; A slightly smaller condenser (our performance modeling
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Simple suggested that use of R-410A would Manufacturing Cost Energy Payback Design Option Notes Cost Premium Increase Savings allow this change while maintaining Period1 the same efficiency level); and OEM Cost Premium Is Based An economizer and gas heat (the Partly on Value Pricing Due to See See teardown unit had neither). Scroll Reduced Warranty Costs. It Is $84 2.5% Notes Notes Compressors Unclear How Much of the We developed manufacturing cost Column Column Cost Would Be Passed on the models for the baseline and teardown End User. units. The estimated manufacturing Mechanical 22% 4.9% 7.4 $654 cost of the teardown unit was $2,020, Subcooling [4%]2 which is consistent with the $5,000 Based on Cylinder we paid for the unit, considering Recip. Modulating $35 1.1% 7.4% 2.4 Deactivation Such as in the Compressor3 Bristol TS. typical industry markups. The estimated manufacturing cost of the Based on a Prototype Tandem Scroll Compressor baseline unit (R-410A, with econo$421 13% 7.5% >20 Speed Set Including a VariableCompressor3 mizer and gas heat) was $2,995. We Speed Compressor. subsequently calculated the manufacturing cost for each equipment Microchannel Heat $160 5% to Instant to Added Benefit of Enhanced Exchangers 11% improvement option. To +$164 +0.5%4 0.5 Latent Cooling Capacity (11EER) We employed energy-use modeling to estimate the annual energy use Fin/Tube Heat for the baseline unit and each of the Exchanger Size $94 3% 11% 2.8 equipment improvement options. Increase (11 EER) This analysis was conducted for a 20 in. FC Blower Baseline Blower Wheel Size small New York City office, since the $25 0.8% 1.4% 6.4 Wheel Is 15 in. unit design was intended for appliVAV for Blower $260 9% 36% 2.6 Induction Motor cations such as offices with low to Switched medium percentages of outdoor air $444 15% 37% 4.3 With VAV Blower Operation ventilation. The analysis was based Reluctance Blower Motor on the hourly building load data ini$53 1.7% 29% 0.7 tially developed in 1990 by Two-Speed Blower Lawrence Berkeley National LaboImproved Sheet $19 0.6% 1.6% 4.3 Based on Revcor KH3004-21 ratory (LBNL)5 and subsequently Metal Condenser Fan Blade modified to reflect changes in buildPlastic InjectionBased on Multi-Wing 28-5ing design affecting HVAC loads.6 Molded Airfoil $59 2.0% 2.3% 9 4ZR-PPG The hourly data was converted to Cond. Fan Blade PM Motor Cond 0.3% >20 binned data for ease of analysis. The $160 5% Fan 6.2%5 145 performance and average energy use Two-Speed Cond $50 1.7% 5.9% 2.7 of each air-conditioning unit conFan figuration were calculated for differ$2 0.1% 3.4% 0.2 ent ambient conditions and Cond Fan Staging integrated to provide the total an- Variable Expansion $12 0.4% 0.5% Instant Valve nual energy use. % 6 24 10% $710 Instant The results of the energy use and Energy Recovery [2%]2 35%7 Wheel manufacturing cost analyses for the 1. Based on average electricity cost of $0.076/kWh and gas cost of $5.62 per million Btu. key equipment improvement op2. Net cost increase on the basis of dollars per building floorspace served. 3. Percent cost premium and percent savings based on comparison with a VAV system with tions are presented in Table 1. The single-speed compressors. analyses are discussed in more de4. Range of cost premium is based on: a) a $15 cost reduction for refrigerant charge tail in the project final report.7 reduction, b) a $90 future cost reduction for use of a single-unit condenser, and c) a $70 future cost reduction for use of a single-unit evaporator. We based our analysis of the scroll 5. For modulating operation. variable-speed compressor on a pro6. Cooling Season. totype tandem compressor set which 7. Primary energy savings, as a percentage of primary energy use for the baseline system for the cooling season and for heating of ventilation air in the heating season. was subsequently used in testing. The set has two 5-ton (17.6 kW) com- Table 1: Design option savings and economics analysis results.

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The design (called Configuration 1) is summarized in Table pressors: one is single speed and the other is variable speed. The mechanical subcooling analysis was based on the use of a 2. We also tested two additional configurations. The first of 1 ton (3.5 kW) nominal rotary compressor and a subcooling these, Configuration 2, used a tandem scroll compressor set heat exchanger to provide mechanical subcooling. The including one variable-speed compressor. The second, Configumicrochannel options were based on performance and cost ration 3, used a microchannel condenser and a tandem compresprojections provided by a major microchannel heat exchanger sor set consisting of two single-speed compressors. We used aggressive interlacing in the design of the fin/roundmanufacturer, assuming quantity production of heat exchangers large enough for commercial units. The variable expansion tube heat exchangers to achieve highly efficient part-load pervalve is a device that adjusts refrigerant flow on the basis of formance with a separate refrigerant circuit serving each compressor. This design apthe amount of liquid carryover High-Efficiency Design proach involves spreading out to control for essentially zero (Configuration 1) the circuits serving each comsuperheat (U.S. Patent NumCompressors Two 5-ton ZP54 scroll pressor so that most of the heat bers 5,819,548 and Heat Exchangers: Type Fin/Round Tube exchangers fin surface is used 5,913,891). The cost premium Condenser: when just one compressor opfor both the energy recovery Face Dimensions, in. (mm) 46 x 72 (1168 1829) erates. Since this approach is wheel and mechanical Area, ft2 (m2) 23 [2.14] not possible with subcooling were adjusted to Depth, in. (mm) 1.8 [46] (2 Rows) microchannel heat exchangers, account for the increase in Evaporator: 40 42 (1016 1067) we used the tandem compresfloor space that a given air- Face Dimensions Area 11.7 (1.09) sor set for Configuration 3, alconditioning unit can serve. 2.7 (69) (3 Rows) lowing refrigerant to flow Note that our initial calcu- Depth Target COP [EER (Btu/W-h)] 10.3 (3.02) during single-compressor oplations indicated that cooling Expansion Device Variable Expansion Valve eration through the entire conseason energy savings for the 1 Energy Recovery Wheel Airxchange ERC-3020 denser but only through one of energy recovery wheel (ERW) Main Blower: Wheel Acme 185 BC Plenum Fan the two conventional evaporawould be negative. Key fac- Motor Three-Phase 208V 3 hp Motor tor circuits. tors causing this result were Variable Frequency Drive Baldor 15J Minidrive The cost of the energy-effias follows. First, the analysis Acme 150 BC Plenum Fan cient design was calculated usassumed use of a two-blower Exhaust Blower Three-Phase 208V 1 hp Motor ing the same methodology we rather than three-blower arRevcor KH2404-29 Condenser Fans (2) used to evaluate design oprangement for the system so Three-Phase 208V hp Motor tions. We estimated the manuthat the pressure-drop penalty Dampers: Model Number Ruskin CD60 facturing cost increase for the associated with the ERW apFace Dimensions, in. (mm): ERW Bypass (2) 34 7.5 (864 191) unit as $1,200, a 40% increase plied to full system airflow Outdoor 36 20 (914 508) over the baseline 9 EER unit. rather than just the outdoor Return 36 14 (914 356) However, the capacity enairflow. Second, while bypass Belimo LM245R (Proportional) hancement for the ERW was esdampers were incorporated to Damper Actuators 1. 30-in. wheel size, design airflow 2,000 cfm at 1 in. w.c. pressure drop. timated for a small off ice allow for increased outdoor building with about 20% outairflow for economizing, out- Table 2: Energy efficient AC unit design summary. door air to range from 15% to door airflow was through the ERW for all hours for which ambient conditions were too warm 35%. Hence, the net cost premium for this application ranges for economizing but too cool to make energy recovery worth- from 5% to 20% depending on climate. Cost premium as comwhile, causing the system to operate with the higher fan power pared with a current Standard 90.1-1999-compliant unit was for all of these hours with no energy recovery benefit. Alterna- not evaluated but would be expected to be less. tive system design to take better advantage of the ERW is discussed later. VAV Control Based on the initial energy and cost analyses, we developed a As shown in Table 1, the energy impact of VAV is considerdesign configuration incorporating the best design options: able, supporting our decision to incorporate it in our design. Increased heat exchanger size to achieve an EER of at least However, a concern regarding implementation of conventional 10.3, consistent with the ASHRAE 90.1-1999 requirement for VAV approaches was that controlling the supply air temperature 10-ton electric-heat rooftop units; by staging two single-speed compressors would have been quite Variable air volume using an induction motor and inverter; coarse, resulting in supply temperature fluctuations. Other re ERW; and frigerant-side control approaches, such as hot-gas bypass and Economizer. suction line throttling, were considered undesirable because
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they did not meet our focus on energy. Airside control involving ture. Options for modulating blower speed are available off the air bypass to the return was rejected for the same reason. shelf at reasonable cost and are already part of any VAV instalWe developed a new approach to VAV that uses modulation lation. This avoids the additional cost of modulation for the of the blower rather than of cooling to control the supply air compressor. The approach allows for implementation of VAV temperature. Figure 1illustrates this approach, called reverse without the need for expensive VAV terminal units. Better zone VAV It reverses the way in which air volume is adjusted. Un- control is possible with the use of conventional VAV terminal . der conventional control, space temperature sensors affect the units, but could also be provided with less expensive zone throttling of terminal box valves, and the blower is modulated dampers, or, depending on zone diversity, with no dampers. to deliver the required flow while maintaining desired duct Humidity Control. Most conventional systems only propressure. The cooling coil cavide temperature control for pacity is adjusted (through the building, but this apcompressor cycling or moduproach attempts to control P T T lation, or chilled water valve both temperature and humidmodulation) to control the supity. The airflow rate is moduply air temperature. lated to better match the Compressor Blower Terminal Box Space In the reverse approach, the sensible heat ratio (SHR) recompressor plant operation quired by the conditioned (staging or modulation, despace. T pending on the compressor) is Ease of System Upgrade. T adjusted based on space temThe reduced zone airflow conH perature, and the blower retrol requirements allow this sponds by adjusting airflow to Compressor Blower Terminal Box Space VAV system to be retrofit into maintain a desired supply air buildings that currently have temperature. One of the striped constant air volume (CAV) Figure 1: Contrast of conventional VAV and reverse VAV. arrows in Figure 1 shows that systems without the need for terminal box zone control can still be adjusted on the basis of the entire air-distribution system to be modified. This represpace temperature. The second striped arrow illustrates the ad- sents a significant market opportunity because it allows much justment of airflow to respond to space humidity conditions. easier system upgrade when an old inefficient unit is replaced. In practice, this can be done by adjusting the desired supply air temperature setpoint. For example, the setpoint would be Energy Recovery Wheel Integration allowed to modulate from 7.2C (45F) to 15.6C (60F). When The air-conditioning unit design was intended for applicathe space needs more dehumidification and less sensible cool- tions with moderate percentages of outdoor air. The energy ing, the setpoint would be reduced. The blower speed would recovery wheel (ERW) was selected with a design flow of 2,000 drop to reduce airflow so that the lower setpoint can be achieved. cfm (944 L/s), up to about half of the units maximum total When the space requires less dehumidification, the supply air airflow. While this is a higher flow than would be considered setpoint is increased, leading to an increase in airflow. Optional OA Blower to Reduce Total Blower Power Energy Recovery Wheel This approach allows decoupling of sensible and Mixing Intake Hood Box Main Blower latent control of the space, Larger to Handle allowing for use of reduced Increased Pressure Drop Makeup Air airflow to enhance dehumidification when it is apExhaust Air Gas Directed Away From Intake propriate, but operating Furnace Hood To Prevent Recirculawith high airflow when tion Exhaust Blower Return there is less moisture load. Return Damper Economizer From The benefits of reverse To Ensure Proper Supply Dampers Space Exhaust and Air To Bypass Air VAV particularly in unitary , Makeup Airflow Around ERW for systems, are as follows: Economizer Cooling Optional Separated Toilet or Other Exhaust Cost Savings. Blower Separate Duct to Prevent speed rather than compresRecirculation Where Required sor modulation is used to set the supply air tempera- Figure 2: Integration of an energy recovery wheel in an air-conditioning unit.
Conventional VAV Reverse VAV Comp. Comp. Evap. Evap.

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Cooling Coil

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Unit Configuration Compressors Condenser Evaporator Temperatures, F (C) Condensing Evaporating Capacity Rating Point Total Capacity, Btu/h (W) Sensible Capacity, Btu/h (W) Sensible Heat Ratio Power Input (W) EER Btu/h-W (COP [W/W]) IPLV Btu/h-W (W/W)

Tandem, Two Two 5-ton SS Tandem, VS 5-ton SS Conventional Conventional Microchannel Conventional Conventional Conventional 117/113 (47/45)1 51/51 (10.6/10.4)1 119,000 (34 900) 86,000 (25 200) 72% 11,010 10.8 (3.16) 112,000 (32 900) 109 (43) 51 (10.3) 113,000 (33 100) 77,000 (22 600) 68% 10,460 10.8 (3.16)

Conventional Unit

High Efficiency Prototype

Tested Standard Tested Unit, With Configuration 3 Unit at Unit at Hot Liquid (Microchannel 3,600 4,500 Reheat, at Condenser) cfm cfm 4,500 cfm Net Capacity, Btu/h (W) Sensible Heat Ratio COP , Btu/h-W (EER) IPLV, Btu/h-W (W/W) Curb Footprint, L W, in. (m) Max. Dimensions, in. (m) Weight, lb (kg) 131,000 (38 400) 64% 10.8 (3.16) 11.6 (3.40) 132,300 (38 800) 69% 10.7 (3.14) Not known 125,500 (36 800) 60% 10.3 (3.02) Not known 113,000 (33 100)1 68% 10.8 (3.16) 14.1 (4.13)

12,100 9.3 (2.72)

86 84 (2.2 2.1) 86 84 45 (2.2 2.1 1.1) 1,725 (784)

128 50 (3.3 1.3) 128 87 52 (3.3 2.2 1.3) 1,782 (810)

Staged 13.1 13.8 Condenser Fans (3.84) (4.04) Constant 12.8 14.1 Condenser Fans (3.75) (4.13) 1. The two temperatures represent the two refrigeration loops.

Table 3: Capacity, EER, and IPLV test results.

moderate, the selection allows for a broader range of system applicability and it results in reduced blower power input. The wheel incurs 1 in. w.c. (249 Pa) of pressure drop at the design flow rate. Although the concept of recovering energy from exhaust air to precondition incoming outdoor air is straightforward, integrating the ERW into the unit can be complex. Some of the issues are illustrated in Figure 2. First, an exhaust blower is required to draw the exhaust air through the wheel, since the wheels pressure drop is not negligible. The pressure drop on the outdoor air side of the ERW can be provided by the main blower or by an additional outdoor air blower. We used the main blower in this project. This may require that throttling occur in the return dampers to ensure that equal pressures of outdoor and return air enter the mixing box, depending on the pressure in the return plenum. We mitigated the energy penalty associated with return damper throttling by using VAV However, because the unit . operates with VAV the positions of the return and outdoor damp, ers must be modulated as the main blower speed modulates to ensure the constant flow of outdoor air through the ERW. The pressure drop across the ERW is used as an indicator of flow rate. As blower speed drops, the outdoor damper must open more and the return damper must throttle more, since the return duct pressure drop gets lower while ERW pressure drop remains constant. Another issue is how to incorporate economizing. A large amount of outdoor air must flow during economizing operation, which would incur excessive pressure drop across the
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Evaporator Face L W D, 70 36 3 42 40 2.7 in. (m) (1.8 x 0.9 0.076) (1.1 1.0 0.069) Face Area, 17.5 (1.63) 11.7 (1.08) ft2 (m2) Condenser Face L x W, 82 40 72 46 in. (m) (2.1 1.0) (1.8 1.2) 21.7 23 Face Area, (2.01) (2.14) ft2 (m2) Number of 3 2 Condenser Fans Fan Blade Dia., 22 (0.56) 24 (0.61) in. (m) 1. Not including impact of energy recovery wheel.

Table 4: Comparison of conventional and new design units.

ERW. Therefore dampers are needed to allow air bypass around the ERW for both the outdoor air and the exhaust air. An additional possible operating mode occurs when the ambient air is too warm to use for economizing but not warm enough so that compressor power savings are greater than blower power increase when using the ERW. We did not incorporate this operational mode in the tested prototype.
Laboratory Testing

We conducted laboratory testing primarily to evaluate capacity, EER, and IPLV for the conventional configuration as compared with the variable-speed and microchannel configurations. The unit configurations and the test results are summarized in Table 3. The conventional unit design, with an EER of 10.8, exceeded the 10.3 target. The high IPLV levels result from the aggressive heat exchanger interlacing. Note that IPLV was better with staged condenser fans. This is also the result of the condenser interlacing, which allows the refrigerant to transfer heat to all of the reduced condenser airflow during part load.
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90 85 80 Space Temp. Space RH

80 75 70 65 60 55 50

90 85 80
RH Percent Temp. (F)

80 Space Temp. Space RH 75 70 65 60 55 50

Temp. (F)

75 70 65 60 55 50 6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 Time of Day

75 70 65 60 55 50 6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 Time of Day

Figure 3: Comparison of prototype (left) and conventional unit maintenance of space conditions.

Configuration 2, which used the variable-speed tandem com- capacity greater than 10 tons to demonstrate the capacity enpressor, had poor EER but good IPLV. This is because the vari- hancement of the ERW. The units are compared in Table 4. We connected both units to a common ducting system serving able-speed compressor efficiency was very good at low speed but very poor at high speed. For the ARI capacity rating point, the building, with shutoff dampers that would allow switching the variable speed compressors input power was about 1 kW between the two units. The conventional unit was set up to cycle higher than that of the single-speed compressor of the tandem the hot liquid reheat based on a space humidistat. The facility is set. Configuration 3, with the microchannel condenser, had a highly instrumented test building with simulated internal loads reduced capacity with EER equal to that of Configuration 1. that allowed careful comparison of the performance and energy use of the two units. The Florida The use of a microchannel conlocation was chosen not only bedenser and conventional 70 cause of the FSEC facility, but evaporator required the use of 65 also to allow testing of the dehua receiver for the tested unit to 60 midification capabilities of the avoid pressure fluctuations associated with charge mismatch new design. The test building 55 was set up to simulate a small ofof the heat exchangers. When 50 fice building typical of Florida operating with a receiver, the 45 O Conventional construction. The outdoor venhot liquid has nearly zero X Prototype subcooling, which reduced catilation flow was 840 cfm (396 40 pacity, but the condenser is L/s), and the units were set up for 35 used entirely for condensing, a 4,500 cfm (2124 L/s) maximum 30 which helped further reduce total airflow. Estimated total peak 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 load (including ductwork thermal the condensing temperature Outdoor Absolute Humidity (lb/lb Dry Air) losses) was 32 100 W (109,400 and compressor power input. Figure 4: Humidity control comparison. Btu/h) with a 64% SHR. We esThe IPLV for the microchannel configuration was very high, due to the use of the tandem tablished a schedule for activation of the loads and operation of compressor set for this configuration. Use of separate com- the HVAC equipment to represent the office application. Testing pressor loops with microchannel heat exchangers would have was conducted between August 2002 and January 2003. The cooling performance of the two units was comparable. resulted in less impressive IPLV, since the available Figure 3 shows the performance on two days with similar ammicrochannel technology did not allow interlacing. bient conditions. Since both units had two single-speed comField Testing pressors, they both provided cycling control of the space We conducted a field test at Florida Solar Energy Centers temperature. The humidity control of the prototype unit was (FSECs) Building Science Laboratory to compare the perfor- tighter, due to the ability to adjust airflow rate to respond to mance of the prototype rooftop unit with a conventional unit dehumidification needs. Even so, humidity fluctuations were that uses hot liquid reheat, which is an energy-efficient approach not entirely avoided. The airflow modulation control was set to enhancing latent capacity. We chose a conventional unit with up with moderate-speed response to avoid instability. Hence,
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Space RH Percent

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RH Percent

140
Daily Energy Use, kWh

Conventional Prototype

Evaporator Condensate, lb/day

160

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Conventional Prototype

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 40 50 60 70 80 Avg. Daily Outdoor Temp. (F) 90

30

40 50 60 70 Avg. Daily Outdoor Dew-Point Temp. (F)

80

Figure 5: Daily energy use and evaporator condensate comparison.

the system does not immediately reduce airflow and bring space humidity back down. The latent performance of the prototype unit was not sufficient to prevent rise of the space relative humidity during single-compressor operation for the most humid conditions. It is anticipated that further optimization of the control system would help alleviate these fluctuations. Figure 4 compares humidity control of the two units. It shows that the prototype unit provided better dehumidification (space relative humidity is reduced by 3% to 5%) in warmer conditions when two compressors were likely to be operating. For less severe conditions, in which a single compressor was likely to be operating, the prototype unit humidity control was not as good, reflecting the part-load issues discussed above. For less severe conditions, humidity levels were lower, reflecting added dehumidification provided by the outdoor ventilation air. Energy use of the two units is shown in Figure 5. For the test period, the energy use of the prototype unit was about 25% lower than that of the Conventional unit. While this might be expected based on the IPLV ratings of the units (14.1 vs. 11.6), the IPLV doesnt tell the whole story, since it is measured with the unit operating at full airflow in all-return mode. The part-load efficiency of the refrigeration circuit was probably not as good in the field as the 14.1 IPLV suggests, because of the tendency of the units airflow to be reduced at part load to maintain latent performance. However, use of the ERW is not incorporated in the IPLV and the ERW is clearly a factor in reducing the energy use , of the prototype unit. Daily measurements of condensate collected from the units evaporator drip pans, shown in Figure 5, show the significant latent load contribution of the ERW.
Conclusions

savings are VAV an energy recovery wheel, heat exchanger inter, lacing, and the microchannel condenser. The use of a new reverse-VAV approach for system control provided good humidity control during the field test and offers a way to use VAV in smallto-medium size unitary systems. The applied cost premium for the unit, as compared with current typical air-conditioning units, is expected to average about 10% if the unit is manufactured in sufficient quantity. This system development addresses the current industry emphasis on improved humidity control and reduced energy use without significantly increasing cost. In addition, the work has helped illustrate the individual benefits of the key technologies incorporated into the design.
Acknowledgments

Thanks to the many people who helped make this work possible, including Esher Kweller, P.E., Member ASHRAE, of the U.S. DOE; Steve Pargeter, Member ASHRAE, and Brent Stockton of Aaon; Wayne Warner of Copeland; Greg Kohler, Member ASHRAE, of Modine; Bede Wellford, Member ASHRAE, of Airxchange; Rick Reeves of Acme; Rumin Raykov of Cambridgeport; Bill Walter, Member ASHRAE, of Carrier; and Don Shirey, Member ASHRAE, and Richard Raustad of FSEC, as well as many at TIAX.
References
1. Henderson, H.I. and K. Rengarajan. 1996. A model to predict the latent capacity of air conditioners and heat pumps at part-load conditions with constant fan operation. ASHRAE Transactions. 2. www.invironment.com/newsletter/v2n8g1.pdf 3. www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/bd2.html 4. www.oit.doe.gov/inventions/factsheets/solareng.pdf 5. Huang, J. 1990. 481 Prototypical Commercial Buildings for Twenty Urban Market Areas. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 6. Huang, J. and E. Franconia. 1999. Commercial Heating and Cooling Loads Components Analysis. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 7. TIAX. 2003. Energy Efficient Rooftop Air-Conditioner, prepared by TIAX for NETL/DOE. www.tiax.biz/aboutus/pdfs/ rooftop_ac_report_0625-03.pdf. ASHRAE Journal 45

The energy-efficient rooftop unit design took advantage of the most cost-effective design options, resulting in better performance than that of a conventional 10.8 EER rooftop unit while using about 25% less energy. This work illustrates the point that EER is not the full story regarding system energy use. The design options that contribute most to the units energy
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