Features and Benefits
Design Features
Totally Passive
The standard dehumidifier Heat Pipes are totally passive with no moving parts.
Versatile
Dehumidifier Heat Pipes can be designed to fit almost any size air handler. The amount of precool and reheat can be adjusted by correctly selecting the number of tube rows and the fin density. Dehumidifier Heat Pipes can be installed around cooling coils in air handlers, in DX, split, and packaged air conditioning units.
Low Maintenance
Since Heat Pipes have no moving parts and are activated only by the difference in temperature between the air entering the precool Heat Pipe and the air leaving the cooling coil, they need very little attention. Only periodic cleaning is required.
Durability
Since Heat Pipes are sensible energy transfer devices, Dehumidifier Heat Pipes stay dry most of the time. All HPT Heat Pipes are made of high quality copper tubes, and galvanic corrosion is not an issue in most applications. (For corrosive environments, coils coatings are available). Heat Pipes typically outlast the cooling coils of the air conditioning system in which they are installed.
Compact
Since dehumidifier Heat Pipes wrap around the cooling coils, no additions to the air conditioning units are normally needed. Typically little room is needed inside A/C units to accommodate the Heat Pipes.
Controllability
Controllability of Heat Pipes is offered as an option. This allows the operator to turn the Heat Pipes on-off or modulate their performance.
Quality
With the Heat Pipe Technology name, you are guaranteed the best product. Product testing is part of our standard procedure to ensure top quality.
Benefits
Increase Moisture Removal of A/C Units
The first module of the wrap-around Heat Pipe precools the entering air. This causes the approach temperature of the air to the cooling coil to be lower. If the cooling coil works at same capacity, the air leaves the cooling coil will be colder with a lower dew point and a lower absolute humidity ratio. That means more moisture will be removed from air.. Part of the cooling coil sensible capacity is converted into extra latent capacity. Because of this, a DX System, according to how it is controlled, may have a longer run time in order to satisfy the thermostat. Because of these two effects and depending on the design of the Heat Pipes, the cooling coil can extract over 30% to 100% more moisture than a cooling coil without Heat Pipes.
Dryer Supply Ducts
After leaving the cooling coil, the air is reheated by the second Heat Pipe module. This lowers the relative humidity ratio of the supply air. In a typical system with 2 or 3 row DHP™, the relative humidity ratio is lowered from nearly 100% leaving the cooling coil to approximately 70% leaving the second Heat Pipe module. If the relative humidity ratio in occupied spaces and low velocity ducts and plenums exceeds 70%, fungal contamination (for example, mold, mildew, etc.) may occur. HPT Dehumidifier Heat Pipes help solve this problem.
Humidity Control
Buildings in humid climates frequently encounter serious humidity problems that need to be addressed. Other buildings used for specific purposes like hospitals, certain food processing plants, and some manufacturing plants require humidity to be kept at a low level. HPT Dehumidifier Heat Pipes are usually the most efficient method of humidity control in these situations. By helping the A/C system remove more moisture from the air, the required humidity levels can be easily achieved.
Energy Savings Through Passive Precooling and Reheat
Since Heat Pipes provide reheat by utilizing the heat from the entering air, there is none or reduced requirement for active reheat?. The additional cooling needed to compensate for the reheat is also provided passively by the first Heat Pipe module as it extracts heat from the entering air. Using Heat Pipes to replace active reheat results in substantial savings. A payback of one year or less may be achieved when electric reheat is replaced with dehumidifier Heat Pipes.
Energy Savings with Higher Thermostat Setting
As the relative humidity in a building is reduced by the addition of Heat Pipes, the thermostat can be set to a higher temperature while maintaining the same level of comfort and saving additional energy.
Equipment Savings Through Downsizing
To cope with high humidity loads, the most frequently used technique is to oversize the A/C unit and then reheat the overcooled air. This results in high operating costs as well as initial equipment cost. If dehumidifier Heat Pipes are used, oversizing and active reheating can be avoided. With a chilled water system, HPT Heat Pipes allow the designer not only to reduce the size of the cooling coil but also to reduce the chilled water requirement. Thus, a smaller chiller unit can be used.