In the 20th century, the HVAC industry brought air conditioning out of the lab and into millions of homes and commercial buildings. What was once a luxury is now a necessity in many countries. However, this success now presents the industry with new challenges.

If the air conditioner is to improve the quality of life for billions more people in a rapidly developing world, we face many potential problems. The source of many of these problems is the air conditioner’s heavy reliance on electricity. Tremendous amounts of fossil fuels are converted to carbon dioxide each year to produce the power needed by air conditioners. A rapidly growing demand for air conditioning could accelerate global climate change at a time when the world is struggling to reduce it. Air and water pollution could also increase as more power plants are built to meet the demand for electricity. Areas with limited water resources will find these resources overtaxed by the need to cool the new power plants. The reliability of electric systems could be compromised as air conditioning creates high peak demands for power.

Indoor air quality is another challenge to the HVAC industry, particularly in more humid climates. Sick Building Syndrome is a problem that can be corrected through better ventilation. For many types of buildings, ASHRAE’s standards have tripled the ventilation rates over those that were common following the energy crisis of the 1970s. However, in humid climates, the increased ventilation can raise indoor humidity to levels that are both uncomfortable and unhealthy.

The vapor-compression cycle is now the foundation of the HVAC industry and will remain so for many years.  However, its high demand for electricity, reliance on refrigerants that can contribute to climate problems, and its poor ability to control indoor humidity are major liabilities. 

AILR has been working for the past twenty years to develop an alternative to vapor-compression air conditioners that can meet the challenges now facing the HVAC industry.  By applying solutions that have a strong affinity for water vapor--liquid desiccants--AILR has developed new approaches to maintaining healthy and comfortable indoor environments with minimal impact on our world.  Thermally driven versions of our liquid desiccant air conditioners have very low electrical demands.   Their major energy input--heat--can be provided by solar hot water collectors or recovered from cogeneration systems, greatly reducing the carbon footprint for air conditioning.  Our compressor-based liquid desiccant air conditioner, while it is driven by electricity, is more efficient that other compressor-based technologies that provide enhanced dehumidification.