A S H RA E

JOURNAL

The following article was published in ASHRAE Journal, October 1998. Copyright 1998 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers,
Inc. It is presented for educational purposes only. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE.

Saving Energy
Using Runaround Recovery Coils

Fresh Air Treatment

In Hot and Humid Climates
By George J. Berbari

Expansion
Tank

Member ASHRAE

ntroducing fresh air into airconditioned buildings in hot and

humid climates requires careful
analysis. Bringing in fresh air can
constitute a substantial portion of the total
energy consumed by the building. For example, if this makeup air is improperly
treated and controlled, it can cause elevated humidity levels.
A primary/secondary system design
wherein fresh air is introduced and treated
via a dedicated fresh air-handling unit
(AHU) and then delivered to a secondary system offers system flexibility and
improved humidity control. This type of
system can also help save energy. In this
article, the application of runaround coils
configured in this type of a system is described. This arrangement can save energy while improving humidity control.
The dominant application of runaround
coils is to exchange heat between fresh air
and exhaust air. In hot and humid climates
more than 50% of the load is latent. Therefore, cooling coils have to over-cool the air
to achieve a sufficiently low sensible heat
factor. This usually forces the use of reheat to avoid high indoor humidity levels.
For many of the buildings for which analyses were conducted, the primary cause of
high indoor relative humidity was
oversizing. A secondary, but still important
factor, was improper treatment of introduced
outside air.
Figure 1 illustrates an application of
the runaround coil, wherein one of the
coils is placed before the cooling coil and
the second after the cooling coil. The recovery of energy from the hot outdoor
air is used in reheating the overcooled
air, which achieves dual energy savings.
64

ASHRAE Journal

Circulating Pump
Pre-filter
& Bag Filter

Treated
Fresh
Air

Fresh

Air

1- Pre-cooling Runaround Coil

3- Re-heat Runaround Coil

2- Cooling Coil

4- Supplementary Heating Coil (Optional)

Figure 1: A schematic of the fresh air AHU with runaround recovery coils.

This scheme simultaneously reduces the

required cooling and reheat energy as
shown in Figure 2.

Runaround Coil Energy Savings

A simplified analysis is used to illustrate the possible energy savings. The
analysis is based on the following assumptions:
Constant volume of AHU operating
at 10,000 cfm (4719 L/s).
Supply fresh air properties at standard conditions (70F [21C] and 50% RH
are used).
An equation is used to express the
runaround coils capacity Q at various
conditions for the previously specified
AHU:
Q = F (Tal Twi)

(1)

portionality factor, Tal is the temperature

of the air entering the coil, and Twi is the
temperature of the water entering the coil.
A manufacturer product selection program was used to evaluate the coils at
three different ambient conditions:
DB/WB temp. = 115/85F (46/29C)
DB/WB temp. = 95/80F (35/27C)
DB/WB temp. = 75/70F (24/21C)
A polynomial was then utilized to interpolate the equation variables F and Twi.
The basic solution is to equalize the log
mean temperature differential (LMTD) of
the two runaround coils:
About the Author
George J. Berbari is the manager of the
design department of Tabreed, a district
cooling service provider in the United
Arab Emirates.

Where Q is in Btu/h, F is the coil proOctober 1998

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Ou t s i d e

Ou t s i d e

A nnua l

M oi s t ur e

Dr y B u l b

We t B u l b

B in

Co n t e n t

P r e - Co o l i n g R . A . Co i l
TW
TW1

Co o l i n g Co i l

To t a l H e a t

On Co i l

Of f Co i l

Dr y B u l b Te m p .

Dr y B u l b Te m p .

F
F

F
F

H our s

l b /l b

F
F

B t u /h

F
F

F
F

102

77

0 .0 1 4 2

7 8 .3

1 9 1 ,7 9 3

8 4 .2

5 6 .3

97

78

74

0 .0 1 6 3

7 5 .9

1 6 9 ,8 6 0

8 1 .3

5 6 .3

92

76

293

0 .0 1 5 6

7 3 .5

1 4 7 ,9 5 5

7 8 .3

5 6 .3

87

74

496

0 .0 1 5 1

7 1 .1

1 2 6 ,1 5 8

7 5 .3

5 6 .3

82

72

637

0 .0 1 4 6

6 8 .7

1 0 4 ,5 5 0

7 2 .3

5 6 .3

77

70

903

0 .0 1 4 1

6 6 .3

8 3 ,2 1 3

6 9 .3

5 6 .3

72

69

1 ,1 5 3

0 .0 1 4 5

6 3 .9

6 2 ,2 2 9

6 6 .2

5 6 .3

67

65

932

0 .0 1 2 7

6 1 .5

4 1 ,6 8 1

6 3 .1

5 6 .3

62

58

818

0 .0 0 9 3

5 9 .1

2 1 ,6 5 2

6 0 .0

5 6 .3

T OTA L

5 ,3 1 2

3 8 9 ,6 9 3 ,2 3 4

Estimated circulating pump electric energy is: 5,312 Hrs 1.03 Kw = 5,471 kW-Hr/year. Estimated circulating pump power is: 0.746
Hp/kW 127 gpm (11.5 ft + 7 ft) / (3,960 70% eff.) = 1.03 kW.
Table 1: Energy analysis of a 10,000 cfm fresh air AHU with runaround heat recovery coils in Augusta, Ga.
Co o l i n g Co i l ( co n t i n u e d )
Of f Co i l

R e - H e a t R .A Co i l

R e - H e a t Co i l

Se n s i b l e H e a t

To t a l H e a t

DB Te m p .

To t a l H e a t

DB Te m p .

To t a l H e a t

l b /l b

B t u /h

B t u /h

F
F

B t u /h

F
F

B t u /h

0 .0 0 9 5

3 0 1 ,7 6 7

5 2 5 ,4 8 7

7 4 .1

1 9 1 ,7 9 3

7 4 .1

0 .0 0 9 5

2 6 9 ,7 0 0

5 9 3 ,3 8 0

7 2 .0

1 6 9 ,8 6 0

72

0 .0 0 9 5

2 3 7 ,6 0 5

5 2 7 ,9 6 5

7 0 .0

1 4 7 ,9 5 5

70

0 .0 0 9 5

2 0 5 ,4 0 2

4 7 1 ,9 6 2

6 8 .0

1 2 6 ,1 5 8

70

2 1 ,8 0 2

0 .0 0 9 5

1 7 3 ,0 1 0

4 1 5 ,7 7 0

6 6 .0

1 0 4 ,5 5 0

70

4 3 ,4 1 0

0 .0 0 9 5

1 4 0 ,3 4 7

3 5 9 ,3 0 7

6 4 .0

8 3 ,2 1 3

70

6 4 ,7 4 7

0 .0 0 9 5

1 0 7 ,3 3 1

3 4 5 ,3 3 1

6 2 .1

6 2 ,2 2 9

70

8 5 ,7 3 1

0 .0 0 9 5

7 3 ,8 7 9

2 2 6 ,1 9 9

6 0 .2

4 1 ,6 8 1

70

1 0 6 ,2 7 9

0 .0 0 9 3

3 9 ,9 0 8

3 9 ,9 0 8

5 8 .3

2 1 ,6 5 2

70

1 2 6 ,3 0 8

6 5 5 ,4 5 9 ,4 8 6

1 ,6 6 6 ,7 7 8 ,6 0 6

3 8 9 ,6 9 3 ,2 3 4

3 9 8 ,1 5 3 ,9 2 1

Table 1 continued.
68

ASHRAE Journal

October 1 9 9 8

HUMIDITY
Ou t s i d e

Ou t s i d e

A nnua l

M oi s t ur e

Dr y B u l b

We t B u l b

B in

Co n t e n t

Co o l i n g Co i l
Of f Co i l

Of f Co i l

Dr y B u l b Te m p .

R e - H e a t Co i l

Se n s i b l e H e a t

To t a l H e a t

DB Te m p .

To t a l H e a t

F
F

F
F

H our s

l b /l b

F
F

l b /l b

B t u /h

B t u /h

F
F

B t u /h

102

77

0 .0 1 4 2

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

4 9 3 ,5 6 0

7 1 7 ,2 8 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

97

78

74

0 .0 1 6 3

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

4 3 9 ,5 6 0

7 6 3 ,2 4 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

92

76

293

0 .0 1 5 6

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

3 8 5 ,5 6 0

6 7 5 ,9 2 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

87

74

496

0 .0 1 5 1

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

3 3 1 ,5 6 0

5 9 8 ,1 2 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

82

72

637

0 .0 1 4 6

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

2 7 7 ,5 6 0

5 2 0 ,3 2 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

77

70

903

0 .0 1 4 1

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

2 2 3 ,5 6 0

4 4 2 ,5 2 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

72

69

1 ,1 5 3

0 .0 1 4 5

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

1 6 9 ,5 6 0

4 0 7 ,5 6 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

67

65

932

0 .0 1 2 7

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 5

1 1 5 ,5 6 0

2 6 7 ,8 8 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

62

58

818

0 .0 0 9 3

5 6 .3

0 .0 0 9 3

6 1 ,5 6 0

6 1 ,5 6 0

70

1 4 7 ,9 6 0

1 ,0 4 5 ,1 5 2 ,7 2 0

2 ,0 5 6 ,4 7 1 ,8 4 0

T OTA L

5 ,3 1 2

7 8 5 ,9 6 3 ,5 2 0

Table 2: Energy analysis of a 10,000 cfm fresh air AHU summer cooling requirement in Augusta, Ga.

Twi = (Tal + Ta3) / 2 + 1.5303 Tal 0.029625 Tal + 0.0000625

Tal 2 F = 7277 + 52.78 ( Tal Twi) ( Tal Twi)2

(2)

Where Ta3 is the leaving air condition of the cooling coil

controlled at 56F (13C).
A simplified control system is assumed. The main cooling
coil should dehumidify the air to a level of 66.5 grains (.0095 Kg/
Kg of dry air), which corresponds to that of the comfort conditions of 76F (24C) and 50% RH. This can be attained via a dew
point temperature controller or a simpler DB temperature controller set at 56F (13C).
In this system the runaround coil is operated all summer with
an on-off control. A diverting valve can be used to control the
leaving air temperature of the second downstream runaround
coil, which should not exceed 70F (21C). An optional supplementary reheat coil, if used, can control the final leaving air
temperature which should not drop below 70F (21C).
Two hot and humid climates were chosen for the analysis:
Augusta, Ga. in the United States and Abu Dhabi in the United
Arab Emirates. The Bin Hour method was used to estimate the
annual energy required.
Heat pipes are widely used now in place of runaround water
coils. Heat pipes are slightly more effective as they do not
require circulating pumps. They use refrigerant phase change
as a heat transfer media between hotter and colder deck. Runaround coils use recirculating water for the same purpose.
Heat pipe manufacturers software was used to evaluate the
heat pipes performance using the same weather data for Augusta, Ga. The heat transfer results and annual recovered energy for heat pipes were in close accordance with those of
runaround coils.
October 1 9 9 8

Benefits of Runaround Coils

The runaround coils reduced the cooling coils total annual
cooling energy by 19% for Augusta (from 2056.4 106 Btu to
1666.8 106 Btu [2170 GJ to 1758 GJ]) and by 21% for Abu
Dhabi (from 4137 106 Btu to 3280 106 Btu [4364 GJ to 3461
GJ]). The supplementary reheat coil total annual energy was
reduced by 49% for Augusta (from 786 106 Btu to 398.1 106
Btu [829 GJ to 420 GJ]) and by 62% for Abu Dhabi (from 1303.9
106 Btu to 495.7 106 Btu [1375.6 GJ to 523 GJ]). The Augusta
results are displayed in Tables 1 and 2.
A three-way diverting valve and a third recovery coil can be
used for winter heat recovery between exhaust air and fresh air.
Because water piping is much easier to install than air ducts,
exhaust and fresh air duct distance is not an issue. Supplementary reheat is generally not required if indoor relative humidity
is in the range of 60% to 65% at off-peak conditions.
At relatively low ambient conditions (below 70F or 21C)
the coils can be switched off and the system will operate in the
economizer cycle mode, further reducing the cooling energy
and eliminating supplementary reheat. In milder climates, the
system can be used with reduced effectiveness. In this application, a lower supply air duct relative humidity is achieved, thus
reducing the possibility of mold or mildew build-up inside the
duct.
The system has proven its reliability with hundreds of installations in the UAE. As an example, one 5200 cfm unit (without supplementary reheat) was delivering a leaving air temperature of DB/WB = 71.5/64F (21.9/17.8C) when ambient temperature was 93F (34C) and 46% RH. After the runaround coil
circulating pump was switched off and the system was left to
stabilize, the leaving air condition was determined to be 60.5/
60F (15.8/15.6C).
ASHRAE Journal

69

installed cost of around US$800 per ton. Substantial energy

savings are gained mostly during peak summer demand.
The runaround recovery system described in this article provides a real opportunity for capital cost savings, as well as operating cost savings. It is a reliable and flexible system that can be
used with other system components to further save on energy.

Bibliography
1982. Stoecker, W. F. and J. W. Jones. Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Second Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989, Energy Efficient Design of New Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
Figure 2: The psychometric process of the fresh air AHU
with runaround recovery coils.

Cost Effectiveness of Coils

Runaround coils can achieve substantial energy savings in
hot and humid climates. The hotter and more humid the climate,
the more effective the system. The systems design can be
flexible. The runaround coils recovery system is relatively inexpensive. The added cost for installing a 10,000-cfm (4719 L/s)
AHU is estimated at approximately US$8,000. This is offset by
the reduction of cooling plant capacity by about 15 tons (53
kW) for Augusta and 20 tons (70kW) for Abu Dhabi, with an

1992 ASHRAE Handbook, HVAC Systems & Equipment.

1995. Desiccant Technology Transfer Workshop Manual, Technology
Transfer Workshop: Desiccant Cooling Systems.

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70

ASHRAE Journal

October 1 9 9 8