Experimental study and energy saving potential analysis of a hybrid air treatment cooling system in tropical climates

Abstract A hybrid air treatment cooling system (HATCS) has been proposed to simultaneously promote energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality (IAQ). The HATCS involves a plug-and-play air treatment system. It comprises an energy-efficient oxygen production process, an ozone-based oxidation treatment unit, and an air scrubbing device. Experimental studies have been carried out to investigate the air-purification performance and the energy consumption performance. To address the issue of outdoor air pollution, the proposed HATCS has demonstrated its capability to reduce the supply of ambient polluted air and maintain an acceptable IAQ. Experimental data have demonstrated the feasibility of employing a higher chilled water supply temperature through the cooling coil due to the reduced outdoor air intake. In addition, case studies have been carried out to investigate the energy consumption performance of the proposed HATCS in a typical office building under tropical climates. Simulation results have indicated that a lower outdoor air flow rate leads to a significant reduction on total electricity consumption for cooling. For the selected cases, it is estimated that the total annual electricity consumption saving is up to 59.3 kWh/m 2 by employing the air treatment system.