SBIR Phase I: Rotary heat exchanger for energy reduction in residential and commercial HVAC applications

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力解决了开发先进空调技术的迫切需要，提高能源效率，并将对减少温室气体（GHG）排放产生重大和积极的影响。随着室内空调（RAC）需求在未来30年内估计将增长5倍，开发新的科学和技术方法至关重要，这些方法可以减少“峰值”发电厂对其运行供电的需求。Nativus正在为住宅和轻型商业消费者设计一种节能的12，000 BTU房间空调（RAC），能够冷却500平方英尺。通过对建筑结构的重新设计，我们的专有技术为客户提供了一个满足其空调需求的解决方案，该解决方案比目前可用的商业产品更便宜，更安静，更过滤空气，更容易安装。SBIR第一阶段项目提出开发一种新颖的旋转空调设计，将空调的主要部件结合成一个单一的，包装设备，大幅提高空调性能。 全球约有10亿台空调在运行，其理论上的最终卡诺效率为5-10%，因为工业界关注的是“第一成本”，并且自空调问世以来没有表现出有意义的根本性改进。HVAC行业目前最先进的技术是基于“风扇加翅片管”（FPFT）热交换器，其中风扇将空气吹过热或冷的热交换器翅片。这种结构导致形成绝缘的“边界层”，严重降低热交换器的性能。通过使用一个高效电机，而不是通常在最先进的技术中发现的两个或三个电机，我们的专有设计从热交换器表面旋转剪切边界层，从而提高效率，同时降低功耗。我们的研究目标包括空调组件和系统级验证，由三个里程碑支持，包括国家认可的测试实验室（NRTL）性能验证，通过原型测试的系统可靠性和经济分析。 我们的项目涉及的任务包括设计、制造、组装和测试一个完整的系统。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project addresses the immediate need to develop advanced air conditioning technology that increases energy efficiency and will have a significant and positive impact on reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. As Room Air Conditioning (RAC) demand increases by an estimated 5x over the next 30 years, it is crucial that newly established scientific and technological approaches be developed which lessen the requirement of 'peaker' power plants to supply electricity for their operation. Nativus is engineering an energy-efficient 12,000 BTU Room Air Conditioner (RAC) for residential and light-commercial consumers, capable of cooling 500 ft2. Through a complete architectural redesign, our proprietary technology offers customers a solution to their air conditioning needs which is cheaper to operate, quieter, filters the air, and is easier to install than currently available commercial offerings.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel, rotating air conditioning design which combines the main components of an air conditioner into a single, packaged device to drastically increase air conditioner performance. The roughly one billion air conditioners in operation globally operate at 5-10% of their theoretical ultimate Carnot efficiency, as industry focuses on "first-cost" and has not demonstrated meaningful, radical improvements since the inception of the air conditioner. The current state-of-the-art technology in the HVAC industry is based upon the 'fan plus finned-tube' (FPFT) Heat Exchanger in which a fan blows air across either hot or cold heat exchanger fins. This architecture results in the formation of an insulative 'boundary layer', severely degrading heat exchanger performance. Through the use of one high-efficiency motor, instead of two or three motors commonly found on state-of-the-art technology, our proprietary design rotationally-shears the boundary layer from the surface of the heat exchanger, thereby increasing efficiency while decreasing power consumption. Our research objectives include air conditioner component and system-level validation, supported by three milestones which include Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) performance validation, system reliability through prototype testing, and economic analysis. The tasks involved in our project include design, manufacture, assemble, and testing of a complete system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.