Assessment for Desiccant Cooling Air-Conditioning at Antilles High School, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico: Moisture Load Analysis of the Gymnasium Building

摘要

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) was requested to independently assess the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and related controls at Antilles High School (AHS), Antilles Consolidated School System, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, and to help design a new air- conditioning system for the high school gymnasium. Due to the high temperature and high relative humidity common to Puerto Rico, it is desirable to implement an air-conditioning system that can maintain a controlled temperature of 75 deg F and a 50 percent relative humidity. A 'desiccant cooling' system was considered for this application because it can dehumidify the air entering the treated space, reduce the relative humidity, and result in lower operating costs than could a comparable conventional system. A necessary preliminary step before specifying a desiccant cooling system is to perform a moisture load analysis of the area to be cooled. This study documents the moisture load analysis of the gymnasium building at AHS.