Multi-Unit A/C Humidity Control by Latent Load Redistribution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In multiple unit air conditioning systems, the 'zoning' effect of sensible heat leads to imbalanced heat load distribution among units, causing inefficient operation, where units with inadequate sensible heat loads must provide excessive cooling, necessitating heating to maintain humidity control, resulting in inefficient use of units.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioning system with multiple units and a controller that senses humidity and heat loads, redistributes latent heat removal to ensure no unit exceeds its sensible heat removal capacity, optimizing operation by reallocating latent heat loads to units with higher sensible heat loads, thereby eliminating the need for heating in any zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If each A/C unit operates independently to maintain temperature control in its zone, then temperature control is maintained, but humidity control becomes inefficient requiring heating operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges humidity control functionality across multiple A/C units by allowing one unit to serve as a dedicated humidity controller for the entire room. This unit removes latent heat (moisture) independently of its sensible heat (temperature) zone, while other units focus on temperature control. This combination resolves the contradiction by enabling efficient humidity control without requiring heating operations in units with insufficient sensible heat loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The designated humidity control A/C unit performs multiple functions: it controls humidity for the entire room (universal humidity control) while also maintaining temperature in its own zone. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve both temperature control and efficient humidity control without the energy waste of heating operations.
2Reliability
If a unit with low sensible heat load provides cooling for humidity control, then humidity control is achieved, but the unit must operate inefficiently requiring heating to balance temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the humidity control function with a unit that has sufficient sensible heat load capacity. This designated unit removes latent heat for the entire room while its sensible heat removal capacity is adequate to prevent temperature drops requiring heating. This merging of functions eliminates energy waste by ensuring humidity control is performed by a unit that can handle the cooling load efficiently.
3Reliability
If latent heat removal is distributed evenly among all units, then humidity control is maintained, but units with insufficient sensible heat load operate inefficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designating specific A/C units for specific functions based on their capabilities. One unit is designated for humidity control (with sufficient sensible heat load), while other units focus on temperature control in their respective zones. This localized specialization ensures that humidity control is reliable while maintaining high operational efficiency across all units.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures all units operate efficiently, maintaining humidity control across zones without requiring heating, improving overall system efficiency by preventing units from operating in heating mode, thus optimizing energy use and performance.
Implementation Method 1
This is due to the effect of vapor pressure created by the moisture in the air. This vapor pressure will force the moisture to distribute evenly within the room 10 independent of the air flow of the A/C units 12, 14 and 16.
Implementation Method 2
the majority of heat flow, which is controlled by convection, often stays within the zone determined by the air flow of the individual A/C units
Implementation Method 3
Latent cooling is the removal of moisture or humidity from the air
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
An air conditioning (A/C) system that may have a plurality of air conditioning units disposed in different zones of an area that each operate to cool the different zones, a humidity sensor for sensing the humidity in the area, and a controller. The controller may be adapted to analyze a sensible heat load being experienced by each of the air conditioning units and to control a latent heat removal being performed by each air conditioning unit such that a percentage of latent heat removal performed by each air conditioning unit does not exceed a percentage of sensible heat removal being performed by each air conditioning unit.