An experimental study is conducted to investigate the chronological performance variation such as pressure drop across a heat exchanger and cooling capacity due to the air-side particulate fouling of fin-and-tube heat exchangers for air conditioner evaporators used. 30 samples of air conditioners used in the field such as inns, restaurants, and offices are collected in chronological used order. This study is intended to provide factual long-term fouling data under actual operating conditions. It is found that the important parameters to influence the fouling of heat exchangers are the concentration and size of indoor pollutants, the filter efficiency, hydrophilicity of fin surfaces and fin spacing. The pressure drop of heat exchangers increases due to the deposition of indoor pollutants larger than 1 μm in size and increases up to 44% in the samples used for 7 years. The air-side particulate fouling degrades the cooling capacity by 10-15% in the samples.
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