A hybrid solar air conditioner: Experimental investigation

• The performance of a hybrid air conditioner (A/C) is investigated experimentally.
• The hybrid A/C maintains comfort condition better than the standalone vapor compression cycle.
• The COP values of the hybrid solar A/C is double that of the typical solar A/Cs.

The removal of moisture from the supply air using conventional air conditioners (A/C) represents a considerable portion of the air conditioning load in hot and humid regions. Desiccant assisted A/Cs are used to address this issue. In this work, the performance of a hybrid A/C, which consists of a desiccant wheel, an enthalpy wheel, and a vapor compression cycle (VCC), is investigated experimentally. The effect of the process air stream's temperature and humidity, and the effect of the ventilation rate on the hybrid A/C performance are investigated. The experimental results show that the hybrid A/C is more effective than the standalone VCC in maintaining the indoor conditions within the comfort zone. The simulation of the complete hybrid solar A/C that uses a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal collector shows that a system coefficient of performance higher than unity is possible.