A system for providing cooling to a building includes a cooling tower for transferring waste heat from the building to the atmosphere and a liquid desiccant system for dehumidifying an air stream entering the cooling tower to increase cooling efficiency of the cooling tower. The liquid desiccant system includes a conditioner and a regenerator. The conditioner utilizes a liquid desiccant for dehumidifying the air stream entering the cooling tower. The regenerator is connected to the conditioner for receiving dilute liquid desiccant from the conditioner, concentrating the dilute liquid desiccant using waste heat from the building, and returning concentrated liquid desiccant to the conditioner.

The innovation uses the disparity between dry and wet conditions of the air, by storing the dryness or wetness in a hygroscopic material. When the surrounding air is drier or wetter than the hygroscopic material, the potential energy difference between moisture in the air and that in the material can be used as a way of transporting heat from the material to the air and vice versa. A simple way this energy can be used is for heating and cooling of a building. For example, a large storage of adsorbing material can be dried in the hot summer, and allowed to re-adsorb water in the cold winter, thus gaining heat that can be used for domestic heating.

An air conditioning/heating system that distributes, through a closed loop water circulating system, cold or hot water to one or more separate air handlers that are connected to a central water chiller/heat pump by supply and return lines for each handler. The system includes a cabinet, an insulated tank within the cabinet, a main coil within the tank, the main coil having a recirculation line with a water inlet and a water outlet, and a refrigerant line attached to the recirculation line; a heat pump/condensing unit connected to the refrigerant line, a circulating pump having a pump inlet and a pump outlet, the pump outlet connected to the water inlet of the main coil, a second tank connected to the pump inlet; at least one air handler having a box, a blower within the box, and a secondary coil within the box, the secondary coil having a supply inlet connected to the outlet of the first coil and a return outlet connected to the second tank.

A heat pump system comprises two units in fluid communication with each other, with each unit including a housing containing an air/brine heat exchanger that includes a direct contact air/brine heat exchanger pad. A brine inlet in the housing supplies liquid brine to the upper end of the air/brine heat exchanger so that the brine flows downwardly through the heat exchanger pad. An air inlet in the housing directs ambient air into the heat exchanger pad in a direction transverse to the flow of brine through the pad, and an air outlet discharges the air from the housing. A brine reservoir receives brine passed through the air/brine heat exchanger. A pair of brine/refrigerant heat exchangers is coupled to the brine reservoirs, for receiving brine from the reservoirs, and coupled to the brine inlets of different ones of the housings, and a refrigerant supply supplies refrigerant to the brine/refrigerant heat exchangers.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method for providing conditioned air to at least one enclosed structure. The system may include at least one conditioning module configured to provide conditioned air to the at least one enclosed structure. The conditioning module(s) may include a conditioning energy exchanger. The conditioning module(s) is configured to circulate desiccant through a desiccant circuit to condition air passing through the conditioning energy exchanger. The conditioning module(s) may be configured to receive at least one of concentrated desiccant or diluted desiccant in order to vary temperature or concentration of the desiccant circulating through the desiccant circuit.

A hair cooling and dehumidification apparatus includes a wearable headgear. The wearable headgear includes an outer layer, an insert layer, and an inner layer. The outer layer includes a supply port. The supply port is in fluid communication with a high-pressure storage tank via a vortex tube. The insert layer, detachably attached to the outer layer, includes a network of ducts and detachable insert elements. The ducts are in fluid communication with the supply port to receive a cooling gas from the vortex tube and distribute the cooling gas to the hair. The detachable insert elements are detachably attached to the insert layer via fasteners. The detachable insert elements, spaced apart to accommodate the network of ducts there between, comprise desiccant materials embedded within for absorbing moisture. The inner layer is proximal to the hair of the user to transfer the cooling gas to the hair.

A rooftop air conditioning unit (RTU) is disclosed. The RTU comprises an absorber configured in a supply airstream, a desorber configured in a regeneration airstream, wherein the desorber is fluidically connected to the absorber via a liquid desiccant system and an interchange heat exchanger. The RTU further comprises a first heat exchanger configured upstream of the absorber in the supply air stream, a second heat exchanger configured upstream of the desorber in the regeneration airstream, wherein the first heat exchanger is fluidically connected to the second heat exchanger via a vapor compression system, and one or more secondary heat exchanger configured between the vapor compression system and the liquid desiccant system, wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable to control temperature of a desiccant associated with the liquid desiccant system into the absorber and/or into the desorber.

A data center includes heat producing components and an air handling system that provides reduced relative humidity air to cool the heat producing components. The air handling system includes a thermal storage unit that removes thermal energy from incoming air under a given set of ambient air conditions and releases thermal energy into incoming air under another set of ambient air conditions. Under the given set of ambient air conditions, the thermal storage unit cools the incoming air and causes water vapor to condense out of the incoming air. Under the other set of ambient air conditions, the thermal storage unit releases thermal energy into the incoming air, thus heating the incoming air.

A solar powered absorption cooling system employing refrigerant-absorbent solutions such as water and lithium bromide and hybrid storage capabilities, and a method of employing the system in refrigeration and air conditioning units. The system includes a first temperature control valve and second temperature control valve that together regulate the flow of solar heating fluid into the generator and substantially reduce absorbent crystal formation.

A solar powered absorption cooling system employing refrigerant-absorbent solutions such as water and lithium bromide and hybrid storage capabilities, and a method of employing the system in refrigeration and air conditioning units. The system includes a first temperature control valve and second temperature control valve that together regulate the flow of solar heating fluid into the generator and substantially reduce absorbent crystal formation.