IIT Delhi develops energy-efficient AC prototype that reduces power use by up to 33%

A new breed of energy efficient air conditioner has been developed by the researchers of IIT Delhi that would enable electricity to be drastically reduced and at the same time maintain the indoor comfort which is a promising solution to the growing cooling needs.

As more of the population in homes and offices start using air conditioners, the demand for electricity to cool down will be three times more in 2037-38, as per the India Cooling Action Plan released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under Government of India. This drastic increase may strain natural resources and increase the price of electricity to the consumers.

To overcome this problem, a research team from IIT Delhi’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, led by prof. Anurag Goyal and supported by PhD scholar Ananthakrishnan K, has developed and is currently testing a laboratory-scale prototype of a hybrid air conditioning system. Early results show that the system can reduce electricity consumption by about one-third compared to conventional room ACs.

Also read IIT Madras develops renewable energy roadmap for zero-emission truck charging parks

The new system is able to absorb moisture of incoming air directly using a special salt solution unlike the traditional air conditioners which, in an attempt to remove the humidity, would excessively cool the air, a process that consumes more energy. A thin membrane is provided to ensure that the salt solution is not mixed with the indoor air as this is one of the main weaknesses of the current systems.

The system also improves efficiency by reusing heat that is normally released by the AC’s outdoor unit. The heat is redirected to evaporate and reuse this salt solution and the system will then be used continuously without using additional heating materials.

According to Prof. Goyal, the prototype cut the amount of electricity consumed by approximately 1200 watts of the popular room ACs to approximately 800 watts yet the ideal level of indoor comfort was preserved. According to the climate conditions in the Indian region, energy saving would be between 28 percent in the humid areas and up to 41.5 percent in the dry areas.

Also read Not Just JEE, NEET: Plans for IIT Kanpur - SATHEE go far beyond coaching to ‘routine school support’

The researchers believe that this technology may be of value in ensuring that cooling is more sustainable, particularly as the demand keeps on rising. The Journal of Building Engineering has published their work, which is entitled Model-based analysis of a new hybrid membrane-liquid desiccant air conditioner to achieve high-efficiency space cooling.