Edition No.

July 2001

ENGINEERING
S Y S T E M S O L U T I O N S

n this issue, we provide background information on various energy recovery devices, as well as several considerations for determining whether or not energy recovery is right for your application. While they have been around for several years, energy recovery devices have generally been used in applications with high minimum outdoor air requirements. Given the savings they can generate amd rising cost of energy, it makes good sense to consider using an energy recovery device in less demanding applications. At McQuay, we take pride in providing engineered products that can give you flexibility to build the exact HVAC systems you need for optimum energy efficiency, good indoor air quality, low sound and low cost installation and service. Our second article introduces our latest innovations: factory-installed and tested energy recovery options available in McQuay Vision air handlers and Roofpak applied rooftop systems and rooftop air handlers.

Energy Recovery
Is It The Right Choice For Your Application?
Maintaining acceptable indoor air quality is generally accomplished by introducing ventilation air from outdoors. But bringing in more outside air costs money because the air must be conditioned to match the indoor space requirements. In many applications such as schools, the ventilation load can represent over 30% of the cooling load and 50% of the heating load. ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 states that Individual fan systems that have both a design supply air capacity of 5,000 cfm or greater and have a minimum outside air supply of 70% or greater shall have an energy recovery system with at least 50% recovery effectiveness (Section 6.3.6.1). While this requirement is generally meant to apply to 100% outside air systems, a strong case could be made for using energy recovery in less demanding applications. latent energy provides the added benefit of significantly raising the humidity of the outdoor air in the winter and lowering it in the summer. This can have a dramatic impact on the first cost and operating cost of the HVAC system. Mechanical humidification requires 1,100 Btu per pound of humidity and can contribute to significantly higher operating costs. Mechanical dehumidification generally requires overcooling the supply air stream and (in many cases) reheating it, again contributing to higher operating costs. Examples of enthalpy devices include enthalpy wheels and permeable membrane exchangers. Table 1 provides an overview of various devices. For more information, refer to the 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook, Chapter 44.
Continued on next page.

You can find this and other issues of Engineering Systems Solutions on our website at www.mcquay.com. Also, check out our Whats New page for information and literature on McQuay and other McQuay products. McQuay provides semi-custom system solutions for commercial HVAC applications. This newsletter is written specifically for the HVAC engineering community. We welcome your comments, feedback, and article suggestions. Hugh Crowther Director of Applications McQuay North America

Energy Recovery Types

There are two basic types of air-to-air energy recovery equipment; sensible devices and enthalpy devices (or total energy devices). Sensible devices transfer sensible energy (or heat) from the return air stream to the supply air stream. The heat raises the incoming outdoor air temperature in the winter and lowers it in the summer. Energy savings result from the reduced need for mechanical heating or cooling. Examples include plate heat exchangers, runaround loops, sensible wheels and heat pipe heat exchangers. Enthalpy devices transfer both sensible energy and moisture (latent energy). The

IN THIS ISSUE
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Energy Recovery Is It The Right Choice For Your Application? . . . . . 1 McQuay Offers Energy Recovery Equipment . . . . . . 4

Table 1 - Energy Recovery Devices

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in a year. With the weather and hours known, the ventilation load and credit from the energy recovery device can be calculated. Figure 1 shows the airstream conventions for a typical energy recovery device.

Figure 1. Airstream Conventions.

ASHRAE Standard 84, Method of Testing Air-to-Air Heat Exchangers, defines effectiveness of energy recovery devices as follows: wsa(xsa-xoa) wea(xra- xea) = w = wmin(xra-xoa) min(xra-xoa) Where; is effectiveness Xxa is humidity ratio, dry bulb temperature or enthalpy at the given location wsa is supply air mass flow rate wea is return air mass flow rate wmin is smaller of wsa and wea With this equation, Bin weather data and indoor design conditions, it is possible to model how an energy recovery device will operate. The calculations are performed for every Bin and then extended for the year by multiplying by the number of occurrences in that Bin. The following is a list of some of the relationships that occur in energy recovery devices: It is misleading to assume that a sensible device will only transfer sensible energy. If this assumption is made, then it would be tempting to use the equation Qs=1.085*cfm*(T2-T1). Consider a heat pipe (a sensible device) where there is a humidification in the space. At certain design conditions, the humidity in the return air will condense on the heatpipe and that latent energy will be transferred to the supply air stream as sensible energy. If only sensible energy transfer is considered, then the actual energy transfer will be underestimated. (Figure 2) The equation above is based on mass flow rate (lb/hr) rather than volume flow rate (cfm). Energy transfer is a function of mass flow rate. If the density is known, then it is easy to convert to volume flow rate. The problem is that as the

Copyright 2000, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. www.ashrae.org. Images reprinted by permission from ASHRAE 2000 Handbook-HVAC Systems and Equipment.

Economic Analysis
To evaluate whether energy recovery is right for your application, the capital cost and operating cost savings must be estimated.

consulting engineers choose not to do so to provide proper ventilation if the energy recovery device is not functioning. The credit for downsizing the cooling and dehumidification equipment can often offset the increased cost of the return air ductwork. In this case, the cost to add an enthalpy device is the capital expense of the device and controls associated with it. A sensible device will not generate as much of a credit for downsizing the cooling or dehumidification equipment.

Capital Cost
The following capital expenses should be considered for including an energy recovery device: The capital cost of the energy recovery device. The cost associated with upsizing fan motors to account for any static pressure drop differences. The cost associated with upsizing the return air ductwork to account for the required purge volume when using enthalpy wheels. The cost savings associated with downsizing humidifiers when using enthalpy wheels. The cost savings associated with downsizing the cooling system for enthalpy wheels. While the heating system could also be downsized, many

Operating Cost
Estimating operating costs is an involved process and requires the aid of a computer. Since the load on the energy recovery system is based on the ambient weather, using Bin analysis is a good option for simplifying the calculations. Bin hours are the number of hours that the outdoor temperature is within a certain temperature range. This can further be divided into certain time periods during the day. For instance, Chicago, Illinois spends 383 hours between 35F and 40F during the hours of

Figure 2. Sensible Energy Recovery With Condensation

One of the big advantages of enthalpy recovery devices is they transfer moisture as well as sensible heat. By transferring moisture from the exhaust air stream, they lower the humidity ratio and avoid frosting. It is not unusual for an enthalpy wheel to have exhaust air temperatures below 20F without frosting.

condition should be calculated, supply air conditions of 80F db/67F wb are typical.

Sample Operating Cost Analysis

Table 2 provides a sample of calculations performed for a school in the Chicago area. The following design parameters were used:

temperature of the air changes, its density changes. If volume flow rates (cfms) are used, the question quickly becomes volume at what temperature? Total energy devices are passive desiccant systems. Water molecules are removed from one air stream by adsorption. The water molecules leave the desiccant and are reabsorbed into another airstream if the partial pressure is low enough. The equation for this takes the same form as the equation on the previous page but with the enthalpy factors replaced by humidity ratios (lbs water/lb air). Relative humidities cannot be used in the equation. The sensible energy transfer in an enthalpy wheel is accomplished by the wheel itself absorbing the heat in one air stream and transferring it to another. (Figure 3)
Figure 3. Heat Recovery Process During Winter Heat
Enthalpy Wheel Process Sensible Process Frost is likely to occur in the exhaust of a sensible energy recover device

Humidification has been linked to improved IAQ. Humidification also Occupancy 8am to 5pm improves the operation of many electronic devices by lowering the Ventilation requirement 14,000 cfm possibility of static electricity. However, Exhaust requirement 11,750 cfm humidification is very expensive. Poorly Summer space conditions 75F, 50% RH designed and/or operated humidification systems can be significant IAQ liabilities, Winter space conditions 72F, 30% RH (humidification because standing water and wet surfaces required) create an opportunity for Table 2. Sample Calculations microbial growth. Because Ventilation Load No Device Sensible Enthalpy Device Device enthalpy systems can (Heat Pipe) (Heat Wheel) reduce the humidity load Heating (Mbtu/year) 1,230,000 508,700 507,400 by 60 to 70% , they offer significant operating and Cooling (Mbtu/year) 268,400 204,000 110,600 first cost savings. In 225,000 92,800 Humidification (pounds/year) 225,000 addition, desiccant-based The most noticeable result from Table 2 is moisture transfer devices do not have any the significant load reduction by wet surfaces, so they reduce the introducing an energy recovery device. In likelihood of microbial growth. particular, the data shows that an Enthalpy The winter temperature difference Device can provide close to a 60% credit in between outdoor air and indoor air (For the heating, cooling and humidification example 75F indoors load. The Sensible Device provides a 32F outdoors) provides an significant credit in the heating load, but excellent driver for sensible has significantly less impact on the cooling energy transfer in cold and humidification loads. These figures can climates. However, in the be translated into operating cost savings to summer the drybulb provide simple payback or other financial temperature difference is analyses. For more information on quite small. Sensible calculating the ventilation credit for a energy transfer devices Amount of sensible or enthalpy device, contact your have a very limited effect recovered local McQuay representative. moisture on outdoor air during summer periods. Further, once dewpoint has been reached, the latent energy absorbed in the outdoor air stream must be released as sensible energy on the exhaust air stream. Typically, sensible devices only lower the outdoor air temperature to about the dewpoint. While the sensible temperature difference is small in the summer, the humidity ratio between the indoor and outdoor air is very large. This enables a enthalpy device to remove a significant amount of latent energy from the outdoor air. Further, the supply air does not have to first reach dewpoint to remove the moisture. Although the supply air
added to outdoor air supply

Conclusion
Given the rising cost of energy, the uncertainty surrounding deregulation and its effect on energy costs and availability, it makes sense to consider using an energy recovery device. While the analysis is somewhat involved, the results can demonstrate significant year-over-year operating cost savings. This, in turn, can go a long way towards justifying any up front costs or additional operating costs associated with adding an energy recovery device. In addition, adding an energy recovery device may qualify for rebate dollars with your local gas or electric supplier, further offsetting the cost of the equipment.

Frosting can occur whenever the exhaust air stream is near 100% RH and the temperature is below 32F. In colder climates, this occurs frequently and some form of frost control is required. Whatever the energy transfer rate is at the time the frost control commences will be the steady state energy transfer rate for that outdoor air temperature or colder. Not allowing for this will result in the actual performance of the energy device being overestimated. It should be noted that the stated effectiveness for energy recovery devices does not take into account frosting.

McQuay Offers Energy Recovery Equipment

Energy recovery equipment is available in McQuay Vision air handlers and Roofpak applied rooftop systems and rooftop air handlers. The equipment is preengineered, factoryinstalled and tested to reduce design and installation costs, and for reliable startup. Options for Vision air handlers include runaround coil loops, rotary wheel and fixed plate energy exchangers. Published independent test data that verifies performance against the complete ASHRAE Standard 84-1991 Method of Testing Air-To-Air Heat Exchangers are available for the rotary wheel and fixed plate energy exchanger products used in McQuay Vision air handlers. McQuay RoofPak applied rooftop systems and rooftop air handlers can now be equipped with an ARI Certified enthalpy wheel to provide sensible and latent energy recovery. The enthalpy wheel is fully integrated with McQuay MicroTech II DDC controls to effectively minimize defrost time, properly control outdoor air, return air and exhaust air and to provide bypass damper control as needed. For more information on McQuay energy recovery equipment options, contact your local McQuay Representative.

For comments or suggestions, please call or write: Chris Sackrison, Editor McQuay International 13600 Industrial Park Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55441 Phone: (763) 553-5419 E-mail: chris.sackrison@mcquay.com For more information on McQuay products and services, or to speak with your local representative, call (800) 432-1342, or visit our web page at www.mcquay.com. 2001 McQuay International