Characterizing energy wheel matrixes through transient testing

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Buildings are an integral part of Canadian society and economy as Canadians spend most of their time indoors. Buildings and their HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning) systems consume about 40% and 25% of the primary energy consumption in Canada, respectively. Thus buildings that provide Canadians with a comfortable and healthy place to work and live are essential for a healthy, prosperous and sustainable nation. Recent advances in energy-efficiency have reduced the amount of energy required to heat or cool buildings. Major advances have been achieved in improved: (1) building envelope performance (e.g., better windows and insulation) and (2) HVAC system efficiency. As buildings and their HVAC systems have advanced, providing outdoor ventilation air to maintain high indoor air quality has become a larger portion of the total energy cost of a building. Therefore, the need for energy recovery for ventilation air (ERV) has increased and the ERV market has grown. Heat and energy wheels have the lion's share of the $1 billion North American ERV market. The aim of this NSERC Engage grant is to conduct research that could lead to the very first application of transient testing of energy wheels in a production facility in the world. Transient testing is a relatively new method in the research literature that has not been exploited in industry despite the advantages of reduced costs and testing time. This novel transient testing will be conducted over a 6 month period at the University of Saskatchewan to characterize the matrix of heat and energy wheels manufactured by Engineered Air (EngA), estimate effectiveness and compare with standard steady-state effectiveness data. It is anticipated that the Engage project may lead EngA to adopt a tailored-version of the transient test method for quality control in their manufacturing plant which would improve quality control and enhance EngA's competitive advantage in this important field of energy recovery in HVAC systems.