Heat and Moisture Exchangers for Energy-Efficient Buildings

建筑是加拿大社会和经济不可或缺的一部分，因为加拿大人90%以上的时间都花在建筑上。在加拿大和其他发达国家，建筑物消耗约40%的一次能源，其中超过50%的能源被供暖、通风和空调(HVAC)系统所消耗。因此，为加拿大人提供舒适和健康的工作和生活场所的建筑对于一个健康、繁荣和可持续的国家至关重要。 最近在能源效率方面的进步减少了为建筑物供暖或冷却所需的能源量。在以下方面取得了重大进展：(1)建筑围护结构性能(例如，更好的窗户和隔热)，从而减少了需要向建筑物添加或从建筑物中移除的热量，以及(2)暖通空调系统效率(效率更高，意味着可以在相同的能量输入，如电力或天然气的情况下，向建筑物添加或从建筑物中移除更多热量)。尽管这些进步改善了建筑性能，甚至导致一些建筑在一定时期内产生的能量与其消耗的能量一样多(称为净零能源建筑)，但在建筑物的潮湿状况方面所做的工作相对较少。因此，需要添加到建筑物/从建筑物中移除的水分数量以及水分去除/添加效率几乎没有变化。 NSERC Discovery Grant中建议的研究计划是在节能建筑领域，特别关注湿度控制系统，该系统将减少湿度负荷，并提高暖通空调系统的除湿/加湿效率。将研究和开发两种既能传递热量又能传递水分的新型能量交换器。这项研究将推进科学文献和实用知识的发展。总体目标是开发减少暖通空调系统的能源需求和消耗的系统，改善居住者的舒适性、健康和生产力，并改善室内空气质量和建筑物的可持续性。

Buildings are an integral part of Canadian society and economy as Canadians spend over 90% of their time in buildings. In Canada and other developed countries, buildings consume about 40% of the primary energy and over 50% of this energy is consumed by heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. 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: (1) building envelope performance (e.g., better windows and insulation) so that less heat needs to be added to or removed from buildings, and (2) HVAC system efficiency (where a higher efficiency means that more heat can be added to or removed from the building with the same energy input such as electricity or natural gas). Despite these advances, which have improved building performance and even led to some buildings that produce as much energy as they consume over a certain period (called net-zero energy buildings), relatively little work has been done on the moisture conditions of buildings. As a result, the amount of moisture that needs to be added/removed to/from buildings and the moisture removal/addition efficiencies have changed little. The research program proposed in this NSERC Discovery Grant is in the area of energy-efficient buildings with a special focus on moisture control systems that will reduce the moisture loads and improve the moisture removal/addition efficiency of HVAC systems. Two novel energy exchangers that transfer both heat and moisture will be studied and developed. This research will advance the scientific literature and practical knowledge. The overall aim is to develop systems that reduce the energy demand and consumption of HVAC systems, improve the comfort, health and productivity of occupants and improve the indoor air quality and sustainability of buildings.