Full Description

An air-to-air heat exchanger may be used in cold, dry winter conditions to improve building Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Using the heat generated by electronics lights and people inside a building, a heat pipe heat recovery design may be employed to add beneficial humidification and maintain winter indoor Relative Humidity (RH) above 40 % with lower additional energy cost to the owner. Recent studies have shown that a room RH below 40 % increases the risk of crossinfection between office building employees. Airborne pathogens, such as the Flu, stay buoyant and viable longer in dry environments. Using a rigid media Direct Evaporative Humidifier (DEH), overheating the outdoor air furnished to the air side economizer allows a 50F (10C) to 60F (15.5C) VAV delivery system, in Seattle, Washington, to add free humidity while exceeding the minimum outdoor air requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62.1

Citation: ASHRAE Papers: 2015 ASHRAE Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA