LB-17-C058 -- Experimental Study of Energy Savings Using a Household Dehumidifier ✓ Most Recent

This paper describes experimental results obtained from running a household dehumidifier overnight and comparing the temperature and humidity changes before and after turning on the dehumidifier. The objective of this paper is to test the energy-saving qualities of dehumidifiers as a method of home heating. Dehumidifiers work by the use of cooling coils that cool the air going into the coil, thus allowing the air to hold less water. The water from this condensation is caught in the dehumidifier. As this water is condensed out, heat is given off from the exchange, causing the dehumidifier to not only collect the moisture but also expel heat back into the room. This work is being performed in response to sustainability goals proposed by the United Nations' call for "off-the-shelf" sustainable technologies in third world nations. The data reduction of the household dehumidifier first calculates the amount of energy in the form of heat that is generated by the dehumidifier by comparing the change in temperature, time, kWh, and humidity, and applying these changes to the equation for the change in enthalpy in atmospheric air. Preliminary results of this research indicate that there is a linear relationship between the amount of water collected by the dehumidifier and the kWh consumed which is in qualitative agreement with previous experimental findings.