Energy Conservation of Hvac System in Isolation Room Using Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger

Isolation rooms are essential in healthcare facilities to prevent the spreading of infectious diseases, including zoonoses. With the rise of zoonotic diseases like Covid-19, isolation rooms are becoming the most critical hospital facilities. However, maintaining appropriate environmental conditions in these rooms, such as temperature and humidity, poses a significant challenge due to the continuous energy consumption of the HVAC system. Many researchers have shown that HPHE technology can save energy from HVAC usage. This study aims to conserve the energy of the HVAC system specialising in isolation rooms using HPHE. This HPHE consists of two rows with ten heat pipes in each row, arranged in a staggered configuration, with variations in fresh air temperature and mass flow. Experimental analysis was conducted to obtain the effectiveness, evaporator side outlet temperature, and energy recovery of the HPHE module. This study considered varying inlet fresh air temperatures of 32, 35, 37, and 40 ºC and fresh air velocities of 1.2, 1.6, 2.2, and 2.6 m/s. The fresh air inlet was cooled to the comfortable temperature zone in the isolation room of approximately 24.4 - 25.2 ºC using a chiller. The effectiveness resulting from the variation in airflow velocities in the system demonstrated that higher velocities decreased the effectiveness. The increase in flow rate contributed to an enhancement and consequently improved in heat recovery value of the system. An inlet fresh air temperature from 32 ºC yielding 1.23 increased to 40 ºC, saving energy of 1.85 W.