Enthalpy wheel for more even temp/humidity control?

[Redbearded]

Hi All!

So I'm thinking of using an entropy wheel or rotary heat exchanger in conjunction with hydronic heating for my trailer. Has anyone used something like this or know of someone who has? I try searching on google and I don't really see anything that is set up to be mobile.

Here is a video that shows how it works (i'm looking at a much smaller system) really cool stuff at 7:18 in the video

The idea for me is to set it up so that the trailer can do a full air exchange when temperatures are most favorable, then use this as part of the system maintain the temp. This kind of a system will slow the heat from transferring and in conjunction with adequate insulation should help, at least in theory... Oh and the DB and WB in the picture below are the dry and wet bulb temperatures.

 

[RVTravel]

Your video link is political.

(Link in first post fixed by moderator)

 

[Redbearded]

Whoops, wrong video... sorry

Here is the right one

 

[Redbearded]

No water involved... the water is absorbed by desiccant on the moist side of the wheel and released when the wheel moves to the other airstream.
Parts are lightweight, and really simple. all the power that this part of the system needs in a very small motor to power the wheel, and 2 small fans for the air exchange.

 

[John61CT]

You're in science project territory again.

Vans here, not buildings.

If you figure out how to put any of this into practice, do please post back here.

 

[Redbearded]

Yeah, John61CT. I tend to get off in the weeds a bit I have a feeling that my trailer is going to be a rolling science experiment, lol

Guy, as to the water in that part of the system, I have a science project post dealing with it somewhere on here. I'm still determining if I want to try to use a solar thermal panel with something like type of 2 phase fluid. See the video below. that is for cooling but could just as easily be used for heating a thermal medium for storage. Picture the sun heating the part that they are calling the device, and the load being something like 1kW (1 m^2 surface area exposed to the sun at peak solar irradiance) that would make the pump very tiny theoretically. I'm assuming that the weight would be fairly small for the setup, less than 100 lb (maybe dramatically so)including the panels. If I just used it to heat drinking water I would have no extra water storage. If I used it for a several loops of hydronic tubing, it would be something like 3 gallons/100ft tubing. (not something I'm really worried about).

 

[John61CT]

Yes hydronic just means fluid as transfer/transport, not storage.

Thermal mass to store heat would not be practical unless dual-purpose,

trivial example the cast iron pot over a camp stove.

But I guess if you already plan to carry lots of drinking water, there may be a sanitary way to use that.

Not recommended with the waste tanks though

 

[future_vandweller]

 

of a system will slow the heat from transferring and in conjunction with adequate insulation should help, at least in theory... Oh and the DB and WB in the picture below are the dry and wet bulb temperatures.

This appears to be a convoluted way to extarct heat from stale outgoing air.  A google image search for 'heat recovery exchangers' brings up several simpler concepts.

 

[Redbearded]

LOL, using the waste tanks would totally be some hot shit...

 

[Redbearded]

Future_vandweller you're right, it's purpose is to extract heat, but unlike a heat recovery exchanger which ignores moisture unless it it condensing it also extracts moisture and reroutes it back to it's source. Think of it as a way to use the water vapor in the air to assist in the heat transfer. I must admit I still get a bit fouled up in the nuance though My initial idea was a cross flow heat recovery system, then I learned that these enthalpy wheels do that job and more!