The desiccant-enhanced evaporative (DEVAP) air conditioner — developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), AIL Research, and Synapse Product Development LLC — combines desiccant-based dehumidification with indirect evaporative cooling to reduce cooling energy use by as much as 81 percent.

The first two parts of this series dealt with the use of cast iron components in refrigeration equipment. This last part will focus on the construction of such components.

In the first part of this three-part series, we talked about the effect cold shortness has on the use of cast iron in refrigeration equipment. Now we will look at porosity and abrasion resistance.

Reducing refrigerant in direct expansion (DX) HVAC system designs is a trend both contractors and consulting engineers are using to distance themselves from the competition. While refrigerant reduction has been fairly common in conventional air conditioning, it’s only now emerging in the category of indoor pool (natatorium) dehumidification.

There is a large body of publications regarding uses of cast iron. But very few of them are concerned with the use of cast iron in refrigeration equipment, and even less with the behavior of such materials at low temperatures.

Hospitals use a lot of energy to save lives. To find ways to cut the energy intensity of large hospitals as well as schools and retail buildings by half, DOE’s Commercial Buildings Program and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are working together with ASHRAE and other members of the building industry.

A very common complaint about duct testing is that the covers get blown off the registers. Most code language leaves the choice of pressurizing or depressurizing up to the tester, but experience has shown that the positive pressure made sealing registers much more difficult, and could triple the time to perform a test.

Using a vibration tester can enable technicians with no training in vibration measurement and analysis to test pumps, motors, compressors, and other HVAC equipment and get both diagnoses and recommendations for required action on the spot within just a few minutes.

Through the installation of ecobee EMS thermostats in the massive warehouse and office campus of food wholesaler SUPERVALU® in January 2012, the company was able to slash energy usage and realize a return on investment within one week of installing the thermostats.

If properly followed, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 188 stands to affect the way water systems are managed in hundreds of thousands of buildings in the United States.