Decarbonizing Healthcare with Zero-carbon Reheat Systems
An innovative integrated AHU HEDS technology for dehumidification.
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Recipient
Palo Alto, CA
Recipient Location
13th
Senate District
23rd
Assembly District
$474,611
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project is under a stop work order (SWO) due to the loss of the initial demonstration site. As of September 2024, the project team has identified a new demonstration site and is in the process of securing final commitments in order to restart the project.
The Issue
Healthcare buildings are the second largest consumer of energy per unit of floor area of all building types. As much as 50 percent of energy use in hospitals is for space heating and cooling. In the United States, the healthcare industry accounts for nearly 10 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and these emissions increased 30 percent 2006-2016. The large amount of energy needed to precool hot humid air, then dehumidify and reheat, creates an inefficient process. California's energy goals cannot be fully met without addressing inefficiencies associated with air dehumidification and reheating in HVAC systems. A successful demonstration of the high efficiency dehumidification system integrated with the air handling unit (AHU) will provide a credible working example to hospital facilities and HVAC design communities, who need evidence to support shifting to more modern, efficient technologies.
Project Innovation
Sustaining hygienic conditioned spaces is critical to the indoor air quality of healthcare facilities. This project will replace aging traditional AHUs and demonstrate a more energy-efficient and effective ventilation system at a San Diego hospital. The AHUs will be equipped with an energy recovery technology called a High Efficiency Dehumidification System (HEDS). The HEDS technology substantially reduces or completely eliminates the need to provide new, fossil gas-sourced energy to the reheat process that is part of relative humidity control in HVAC systems. By removing heat from the chilled water return line, HEDS also substantially reduces the thermal load on electric chillers, further increasing gas savings at the generation source. HEDS systems also reduce fan and pump requirements and reduce maintenance costs because of their simple construction with fewer moving parts than competing systems. The goal is to reduce or eliminate fossil gas use for the cooling/dehumidification/reheat process. This easily accessible high-stakes working demonstration could help HVAC design and procurement communities overcome the reluctance to adopting new innovative technologies.
Project Goals
Demonstrate a high-efficiency technology for air dehumidification that is better than traditional air handling systems.
Share results of technology and benefits with other building owners, energy managers, and HVAC contractors.
Demonstrate a significant reduction in fossil fuel use compared to a traditional system.
Move Technology Readiness Level of the HEDS technology from 7 to 9.
Project Benefits
The proposed HEDS AHU retrofit can reduce the cooling and re-heating load in large commercial buildings such as hospitals. Reducing or eliminating the re-heat load can result in year-round reductions in fossil gas use for hospitals and other large buildings. This technology also has the potential to offset cooling energy use. The net impact of this project will be lower operating costs for building operators and reduced greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions.
Affordability
Affordability
The system provides energy savings over traditional AHUs. In the right climate, the system will not require a boiler and will also experience indirect savings from smaller cooling fans and circulation pumps with lower maintenance requirements. Implementing the technology in California commercial buildings could result in over $1 billion in energy savings per year.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability
The proposed system may reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and over 4,000 metric tons of nitrogen oxides due to efficiencies that are higher than traditional AHUs and could eliminate boiler use in some environments. The system also mitigates mold and corrosion, helping to provide a long-term healthier and safer environment for building occupants.
Key Project Members
Agatha Kazdan
Technical Leader / Project Manager
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI)
Jeanie Mar
CEC Project Manager
CEC
Aaron Tam
Engineer/Scientist III
Electric Power Research Institute
Subrecipients
The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the San Diego campus
High Efficiency Dehumidification Systems, Inc
Shadpour Consulting Engineers, LP
Match Partners
The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the San Diego campus
