A new adsorption hybrid dehumidification cooling technology is being developed, replacing the electric heat pump with a heat-driven adsorption type.
Lee Dae-young, Director of the Urban Energy Research Center at KIST, announced that the institute recently won a research project from the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) titled “Development of Adsorption Hybrid Dehumidification Cooling Technology with 25% Energy Savings Compared to Vapor-Compression Systems.” Participating institutions include Kookmin University and Korea National University of Transportation.
□ Why Adsorption Hybrid Dehumidification Cooling?
The 2nd National Energy Master Plan (2014) shifted focus from supply expansion to demand management, aiming to cut electricity demand by 15% and raise distributed generation to 15%. To reduce summer peak demand, it is essential not only to improve efficiency but also to substitute electric energy with other sources.
Cooling accounts for a major share of summer power use. In 2014, cooling demand reached 19 GW, or 26% of peak power. Meanwhile, although electricity made up only 14% of Korea’s 2012 energy consumption (280 million TOE), about 25% of all energy was wasted as unused heat. Utilizing this waste heat for cooling can cut peak loads and improve efficiency at the national level.
Most waste heat is low-grade (<100℃), with limited industrial use—but suitable for cooling technologies such as absorption/adsorption heat pumps and solid/liquid desiccant systems.
□ R&D Progress
KIST previously joined the ROCOCO Project (Reduction of Costs of Solar Cooling Systems, 2007–2008), which showed that solid desiccant cooling was the most economical solar cooling technology. Supported by Korea District Heating Corp., KIST developed a prototype system that proved more competitive than Munters’ DesiCool in both performance and cost.
The technology was later transferred to Korean firms, leading to the development of an electric hybrid dehumidification cooling prototype. Forty units were installed in new apartments and field-tested from 2012 for two years, showing 48% electricity savings.
COP (Coefficient of Performance): 6.6 for pure desiccant cooling, 6.2 for hybrid—both less than half the power consumption of conventional AC. Desiccant cooling replaces electricity with heat energy. If not using pure waste heat, system efficiency must be reassessed based on actual energy use. With CHP waste heat (average derating factor: 12.5%) considered, relative energy consumption was 92% for desiccant cooling and 83% for hybrid systems compared to electric systems.
Further efficiency improvements in desiccant cooling are still needed.
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