Effectiveness parameters for the prediction of the global performance of desiccant wheels – An assessment based on experimental data

The desiccant wheel is a key component in solid-desiccant systems that can be used in non-conventional building air conditioning systems in order to use renewable energy sources and also to achieve important energy savings. At present, the analysis of the behaviour of air handling units based on desiccant wheels is a complex task to be done by a design engineer. It is difficult to access a simple model that can represent the behaviour of commercialized desiccant wheels with enough accuracy.