Abstract
Using a multi-evaporator air conditioning (MEAC) system to correctly control indoor air temperatures only in a multi-room application is already a challenging and difficult task, let alone the control of both indoor air temperature and humidity. This is because in an MEAC system, a number of indoor units are connected to a common condensing unit. Hence, the interferences among operation parameters of different indoor units would make the desired control of an MEAC system hard to realize. Limited capacity control algorithms for MEAC systems have been developed, with most of them focusing only on the control of indoor air temperature, and no previous studies involving control of indoor air humidity using MEAC systems can be identified. In this paper, the development of a novel capacity controller for a three-evaporator air conditioning (TEAC) system for improved indoor air humidity control is reported. The novel controller was developed by integrating two previous control algorithms for a dual-evaporator air conditioning system for temperature control and for a single-evaporator air conditioning system for improved indoor humidity control. Experimental controllability tests were carried out and the controllability test results showed that, with the novel controller, improved control over indoor humidity levels and better energy efficiency for a TEAC system could be obtained as compared to the traditional On-Off controllers extensively used by MEAC systems.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1251-1262 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Applied Thermal Engineering |
Volume | 98 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 5 Apr 2016 |
Keywords
- Controllability test
- Experimental
- Humidity control
- Novel capacity controller
- Three-evaporator air conditioning
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering