Dehunidifer/cooler and method
AssigneeBuilding Performance Equipment, Inc. (a Delaware Corporation)
InventorKlas C. Haglid
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The dehumidifier uses an all-plastic air-to-air heat exchanger together with an integral chiller to cool the incoming air to remove water vapor, and then exchange heat with incoming air to cool the incoming air and re-heat the outgoing air. The degree of dehumidification and the temperature of the outgoing air can be controlled by varying the speed of a variable speed fan so as to provide varying degrees of cooling as well as dehumidification. A programmable controller can be used to operate the dehumidifier automatically, either together with a humidistat and thermostat, or in accordance with a predetermined time profile for the conditioned space.
Claims16
A dehumidifier comprising
- (a) a heat exchanger having a core made of plastic material and having multiple panels of integral tubes forming first passages, and spacers separating said panels from one another forming second passages between said panels, and a housing enclosing said core and forming an air inlet to and an air outlet from said first passages, and a separate air inlet to and an air outlet from said second passages,
- (b) said housing having at least one wall interconnecting one of said outlets to one of said inlets to guide air flow between said first and second sets of passages,
- (c) an air chiller in the path between said one outlet and said one inlet, and
- (d) an air handler positioned to move air into the other of said air inlets, through one of said sets of passages, through said air chiller, and then through the other of said sets of passages and out of the other of said outlets.
A method of controlling a dehumidifier, said dehumidifier comprising
- (a) a heat exchanger having a core made of plastic material and having multiple panels of integral tubes forming first passages, and spacers separating said panels from one another forming second passages between said panels, and a housing enclosing said core and forming an air inlet to and an air outlet from said first passages, and a separate air inlet to and an air outlet from said second passage,
- (b) said housing having at least one wall interconnecting one of said outlets to one of said inlets to guide air flow between said first and second sets of passages,
- (c) an air chiller in the path between said one outlet and said one inlet, and
- (d) an air handler positioned to move air into the other of said air inlets, through one of said sets of passages, through said air chiller, and then through the other of said sets of passages and out of the other of said outlets.
- said method comprising varying the speed of said air handler to increase the speed and degree of cooling and decrease the degree of dehumidification, or decreasing the speed and the degree of cooling but increasing the degree of dehumidification.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.