Image courtesy of Dais Analytic Corporation and BTO Peer Review.

Lead Performer: Dais Analytic Corp. – Odessa, FL
Partners:
-- Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Oak Ridge, TN
-- Xergy Inc. – Seaford, DE
DOE Total Funding: $1,500,000
Cost Share: $300,000
Project Term: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016
Funding Opportunity: Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation (BENEFIT) - 2015

Project Objective

NanoAir HVAC technology transfers water molecules through a patented nanostructured polymer membrane to give the user independent control of humidity and temperature without using any conventional fluorocarbon refrigerants. This membrane allows very rapid and selective permeation of water molecules through a solid plastic exposed to small vapor pressure differences, enabling isothermal dehumidification of air streams and evaporative cooling below local dew point temperatures.

The project team will construct a fully functional packaged rooftop unit (RTU) that will be thoroughly tested and evaluated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The unit will demonstrate Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6) by operating at scale in a controlled environment and provide a clear path to deploying TRL-7 pilot installations.

Project Impact

The goal is to demonstrate improved comfort and control with a system that eliminates climate-sensitive refrigerants and demonstrates a 30 – 50% reduction in electrical consumption from today’s RTUs. The technology can be applied in many different configurations across the HVAC cooling market, which accounted for 5.68 Quads of primary energy in 2011 (14% of building energy consumption), with further uses in both heating and refrigeration.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Antonio Bouza and Jim Payne
Lead Performer: Brian Johnson, Dais Analytic

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