A study of heat recovery from air conditioners using heat pipes | |
| Author | Taweeruk Musanyalak |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.ET-03-13 |
| Subject(s) | Heat recovery Heat pipes Air conditioning |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Air conditioners and electric water heaters consume electricity in households. Heat from air conditioner is dissipated to the surrounding at the condenser while households require hot water for many activities. Recovering waste heat from an air conditioner by a heat exchanger could reduce the electricity consumption of water heater. Heat pipes as a heat exchanger for recovering the waste heat from an air conditioner have efficiency in transferring heat and easy to install with existing air conditioners. This research has the objective to study the heat that could be recovered from an air conditioner at different operating conditions and its transfer to heat water. Theoretical study for a window commercial type air conditioner at various operating condition indicates the amount of heat that can be available for water heating purposes. The temperature range of the refrigerant from which heat could be recovered varies from 90 to l l 5°C while the heat could be recovered is about 55 kJ/kg. Experimental studies using heat pipes with water as the working fluid were conducted by placing the heat pipes between the outlet of the compressor and the inlet of the compressor of a commercial air conditioner. Experiments were conducted under different operating conditions (fan setting, ambient temperature, refrigerant flow condition, etc) of the air conditioner and by varying the inlet temperature and flow rate of the water to be heated. The test results indicate that sufficient heat could be provided for water heating. The experimental results show that heat pipe heat exchanger can generate hot water at temperatures of 52-58°C, and can collect about 80-160 liters of water during 8 hours of operation. The performance of air conditioner is also improved about 8-10% of the condenser load is taken by the heat pipe; the electricity consumption of compressor is also reduced about 0.3A. The application of heat recovery system is thus beneficial to both the air conditioner and water heater. It appropriates for using in households where air conditioner and water heaters are widely used. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Energy Technology (ET) |
| Chairperson(s) | Kumar, Sivanappan |
| Examination Committee(s) | Bhattacharya, Sribas C.;Mohanty, Branmanand. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | RTG Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |