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Modeling and analysis of a heat pump clothes dryer with thermal energy storage.

Number: 2160

Author(s) : LIU X., YANG C.-M., WANG P., NAWAZ K., HARTNETT C., RAJENDRAN A., SEAY T.

Summary

Clothes drying is an energy-intensive process that causes significant electricity consumption and carbon emissions in the US. Approximately 83% of households in the US own a tumble clothes dryer at home and 80% of dryers are electrical resistance dryers with low energy efficiency. Heat pump technology makes it possible for highly efficient and clean drying. Additionally, the ventless design of heat pump clothes dryers (HPCD) provides more installation flexibility. The operation of HPCD involves three primary mediums: wet clothes, a closed air loop, and a refrigerant circuit. The evaporator is for dehumidifying the wet air and the condenser is for re-heating the dry air. One of the critical technological barriers to HPCD market penetration is its long drying time, primarily due to the relatively low discharging temperature and the slow response during the initial warm-up period. In this study, thermal energy storage (TES) technology was adopted to address this challenge by providing pre-heating of air prior to the condenser to increase the operating temperature of the process air. The heat pump can charge the phase change material (PCM) in the TES device with heating energy during clothes washing and the PCM will discharge the stored heat to facilitate air heating during clothes drying. To analyze the optimal design and potential for energy saving and drying time reduction, a mathematical model of the HPCD system was developed. The HPCD is a highly dynamic system with coupled heat and mass transfer and heat pumping cycle. This paper provides solutions to simulate the transient behavior of the system while maintaining low computational cost. The modeling result indicated that the new system had reduced energy consumption compared to electrical resistance dryers and a faster drying time compared to HPCDs. The study provided significant insights into improving building flexibility with TES and smart appliances.

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Pages: 10 p.

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  • Original title: Modeling and analysis of a heat pump clothes dryer with thermal energy storage.
  • Record ID : 30032996
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Figures, economy, Technology
  • Source: 2024 Purdue Conferences. 20th International Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Conference at Purdue.
  • Publication date: 2024/07/17

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