Experimental investigation on the improved cooling seasonal performance factor by recycling air flow energy from AC outdoor fans

• Main Authors: Yen-Tang Chen, Da-Sheng Lee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-12-01
• Series: Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
• Subjects: AC outdoor fan; Energy recycling; Urban heat island; Improve CSPF; Recycle airflow; Energy efficiency
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X2100527X

Due to Taiwan's constant exposure to high humidity and high temperatures throughout the summer, the demand for air conditioning is immense. As a result, energy consumption is very high. For improving the energy consumption of air conditioners, the exhaust from the outdoor fan of the air conditioner is used to drive the wind-powered generator for energy recovery. The recovered energy can offset part of the power consumed by the air conditioner. The exhaust can also be guided upward by the generator to suppress the urban heat island effects. In addition, a numerical simulation was employed to assess various settings of the wind turbine for recovering kinetic energy. The cooling seasonal performance factor (CSPF) was used to evaluate the recovery efficiency. The method used discovered three points worth highlighting in the field of energy-saving research in air conditioning systems: 1. According to the optimized theoretical value, the CSPF value can be improved by approximately 5.9% using the method. 2. A device can prevent the backflow of air into the outdoor unit of an air conditioner to avoid reheating the exhaust that passed through the fins. 3. The device can channel airflow upward, triggering natural convection and reduce urban heat island effects.