A preliminary study of the performance of sensible and latent heat exchanger cores at the frosting limit for use in Arctic housing

摘要

With air-tight housing construction becoming common practice in Canada the importance of providing fresh-air to interior spaces has never been greater. Fixed-plate cross-flow air-to-air heat/energy exchangers are utilized extensively across Canada; however limitations still exist for northern Arctic regions. This paper presents preliminary performance results pertaining to the use of water-vapour permeable cores in fixed-plate cross-flow air-to-air heat/energy exchangers for net-zero energy homes located in Arctic regions. Experimental tests were conducted with the use of a purpose built experimental setup where inlet supply and exhaust air conditions are controlled. The results and conclusions will aide in the design and evaluation of a heat/energy exchanger for Arctic regions to be completed in future work.