Thermoeconomic analysis of duct works for air-conditioned building in Thailand

Abstract

Energy savings in air-conditioning systems are important for achieving energy efficient buildings. A central air-conditioning system in the large building is installed with air ductwork. Alternative materials are replacing conventional (Galvanized Iron Steel) air ducts for supplying air to the air-conditioned area. This research studies the objective function relationship between exergy and economic variables in the alternative air ductwork compared with conventional air ductwork. The optimization method to identify the optimal type and thickness of air ducts in Thailand's buildings. The result shows that the alternative ductwork has achieved maximum worthiness with more useful exergy than conventional air ductwork. The Pre-insulated duct (PID) with 30.00 mm wall thickness is 82.14 %. It is the maximum of all exergies generated by the Air Handling Unit.

Keywords

• Energy efficiency
• Objective function
• Optimization method
• Exergy loss
• Alternative materials