Methods, systems and devices for managing humidity within an HVAC system including a nanostructured desiccant porous material configured to adsorb water from an inlet stream at a first air pressure and to release water from that material when subjected to a second air pressure when the second air pressure is lower than the first air pressure is located within a particular location so as to allow for the passage of wet air over the materials and allow adsorption of the water on to the material. When coupled with a vacuum pump water can be collected and released from the materials and the system, regenerating the material for future use and removing water from a stream at a significantly lower cost than existing processes.

An intelligent air-drying system and method are provided. The intelligent air-drying system includes an air-drying device and an application program. The air-drying device includes a device body, a sensing unit, a heater, and a processing unit. The device body has a water-absorbing material for absorbing moisture in the air. The sensing unit is disposed on the device body to detect the humidity of the environment where the air-drying device is located. The heater is disposed on the device body to heat the water-absorbing material. The processing unit is coupled to the sensing unit and the heater, and the processing unit executes the application program. The startup timing of the heater is dynamically predicted based on the daily humidity change measured by the sensing unit, and the heater is started before the water-absorbing material reaches saturation to ensure the water-absorbing and dehumidifying capabilities of the water-absorbing material.

A system includes a cooler, a refrigeration cycle, one or more receivers, and multiple adsorption dryers. The cooler is configured to cool compressed air received from multiple compressors by exchange with a refrigerant. The refrigeration cycle is in fluid communication with the cooler. The refrigeration cycle includes the refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration cycle includes a refrigerant chiller configured to re-cool the refrigerant received from the cooler. The one or more receivers are downstream of the cooler and are configured to collect condensate from the cooled compressed air. The adsorption dryers are in parallel downstream of the one or more receivers. The adsorption dryers are configured to remove moisture from the cooled compressed air to form dried compressed air with a dew point of approximately 40 F. or below.

The device and method of the invention are adapted to control temperature and humidity of the air in some defined volume such as a room in a house. The device consists of a quantity of hygroscopic material and means for passing air past or through the material. Direct temperature and humidity control occur when air is conditioned (heated and dried by sorption heating, or cooled and humidified by absorption cooling) and sent inside the room; indirect control is also possible, by affecting the temperature of the walls (the sorption material may occupy channels or spaces within the walls, which are then heated/cooled, indirectly heating/cooling the air in the room by conduction). A fan or blower will allow for forced convection of air in a desired path (e.g from outside the house, over/through the sorption material, and into the house, or in the opposite direction). A second fan and valves allow for more complex operations.

Systems for generation of liquid water are provided. In embodiments, the systems comprise a thermal desiccant unit comprising a porous hygroscopic material located within a housing including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a working fluid that accumulates heat and water vapor upon flowing from fluid inlet of the housing, through the porous hygroscopic material, and to the fluid outlet of the housing, a condenser comprising a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet for condensing water vapor from the working fluid; an enthalpy exchange unit operatively coupled between the thermal desiccant unit and the condenser, wherein the enthalpy exchange unit transfers enthalpy between the working fluid output from the thermal desiccant unit and the working fluid input to the thermal desiccant unit, and, wherein the enthalpy exchange unit transfers enthalpy between the working fluid output from the condenser and the working fluid input to the condenser.

An apparatus is provided and arranged with an air control system to alternately direct a first and a second airflow to a first and a second energy-absorbing body in order to achieve a heat and moisture transfer between the two airflows. The energy exchange bodies alternate between recovery and release modes such that when one energy exchange body is in the release mode the other is in the recovery mode. Each of the first and second energy absorbing bodies is divided into a first latent energy recovery portion which includes a moisture absorbent material so that it is arranged to absorb latent energy and a second sensible energy recovery portion which is substantially free from moisture absorbent material so as to absorb primarily sensible energy. The second portion is arranged to supply heat to freezing air entering the energy absorbing body to prevent condensation and frosting damage to the first portion.

In conditioning air for an enclosure, a first ambient airstream is cooled by the cooling coil of a refrigerant cooling system to reduce its temperature and humidity content. The thus cooled and dehumidified air is then passed through a segment of a rotating desiccant wheel to reduce moisture content and increase temperature and is then supplied to the enclosure. The desiccant wheel is regenerated by the use of a second ambient airstream which is first heated with the condenser coil of the refrigerant system and then passed through the regeneration segment of the desiccant wheel. A bypass plenum is provided in the apparatus that selectively allows a third ambient airstream to be cooled in the plenum independent of the evaporator coil and desiccant wheel in the first plenum. That airstream is then supplied with the air treated in the first plenum to the enclosure.

A system for drying compressed gas discharged from a gas compressor is disclosed herein. The dryer system includes a desiccant drying circuit and a refrigeration drying circuit configured to transport the compressed gas in parallel through the dryer system. The desiccant drying circuit and a refrigeration drying circuit are operable for removing moisture from the compressed gas and supplying a dried gas to an end user.

A controlling unit controls a refrigerant circuit and a flow path switching mechanism to perform a first humidity control operation or a second humidity control operation. In the first humidity control operation, a bypass passage is closed, and outside air is supplied into a room through one of first and second adsorption heat exchangers, and room air is exhausted to outside through the other of the first and second adsorption heat exchangers. In the second humidity control operation, the bypass passage is opened, and the outside air is supplied into the room through one of the first and second adsorption heat exchangers and the bypass passage, and room air is exhausted to outside through the other of the first and second adsorption heat exchangers.

A system of generating water from the air in the most energy efficient manner is provided. The water generating apparatus uses a combination of rotating pre-loader wheels of separation materials, mechanical condensation system such as Vapor Compression Cycle (VCC), filtration and mineral addition units to create an energy efficient system for generating water from ambient air. An IoT water generating apparatus optimized through systems integration including smart controls and programming board for optimizing water production using weather and utility data for energy efficient water production from ambient air.