A high-temperature heat pump coupled with a desiccant wheel system possesses superiority among the various hybrid desiccant cooling systems due to its compact configuration and especially its ability to make full use of both heating and cooling from the condenser and evaporator of the high-temperature heat pump to achieve the function of self-regeneration. This study investigates the performance of high-temperature heat pump coupled with a desiccant wheel system using the exergy analysis method; the performance is also compared with the hybrid desiccant cooling system with an electric heater. Two improved configurations for the proposed system are also suggested that are beneficial for irreversibility reduction. The results show that high-temperature heat pump coupled with a desiccant wheel system gets rid of the large exergy destruction of the electric heater and then obtains an exergy efficiency that is 19% higher than the hybrid desiccant cooling system. The improved configuration for the proposed system integrating the isothermal dehumidification of a two-stage desiccant wheel and matched heat exchangers is in favor of reducing the exergy input. It is found that the exergy input is decreased by 30.3%, and the cooling exergy efficiency is increased by 46.9%.
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