Research on Optimal Installation of Outdoor Condensing Units for High-Rise Buildings

Climate change is happening rapidly and affects all regions around the world, causing a global warming which is indirectly driving the demand for air conditioners, especially in densely populated cities. The dense installation of split-type air conditioners in high-rise buildings can lead to a decrease in the coefficient of performance (COP) of the air conditioning system. There are many factors that affect the COP of an air conditioning system, but the hot air circulation is an important factor to be considered. The hot air recirculation can enter outdoor condensing units when many outdoor condensing units are placed in limited space of balconies of an apartment building. To prevent the hot air returning outdoor condenser units (ODU) which are placed in limited balconies, installation of three outdoor condenser units for each balcony of a high-rise building was carried out in this study. High-rise buildings are modeled in 3D modeling’s and simulated by using CFD method. Inlet air temperature of ODUs and air discharge direction of each ODU are stated in order to identify the air temperature entering ODUs for each case study. CFD result shows the optimal case study for ODU installation of high-rise buildings. The results can be used to assist construction professionals in decision making at the early stage of the design process as well as to renovate outdoor units installed in existing buildings.