Experimental evaluation of cold storage performance coupled with an insert incorporated air heater and Humidification Dehumidification (HDH) system

• Cold storage was modified with addition of insert incorporated air heater and HDH system. • Y Inserts (YI) showed better TEF of 3.09 at air mass flow rate of 0.027 kg/s. • At optimized flow conditions higher COP of 3.14 with a meagre energy consumption of 0.6 kWh is obtained • COP enhancement of 18.93 % and energy conservation of 25 % is obtained when compared with conventional system. • Water produced varied from 65 ml to 480 ml in a refrigeration load ranging between 0.2 kW and 1 kW respectively. An insert incorporated air heater in Humidification Dehumidification (HDH) desalination system combined to a Vapor Compression Refrigeration (VCR) system is a unique combination to ramp up the performance of the cold storage along with fresh water production. A research lacuna exists in the exploration of the different air heater inserts and its influence on the cold storage performance. The aim of this work is to explore different inserts (Continuous Helical Insert with Square Holes (CHISH), Discontinues Helical Insert with Square Holes (DHISH), Discontinuous Helical Insert with V Winglets (DHIVW) and Y shaped Inserts (YI)) and to evaluate the functioning of the cold storage modified with a HDH system with an air heater. Flow conditions of air was varied from 0.027 to 0.087 kg/s. At ideal flow conditions and with 0.2 kW refrigeration load the revamped system comprising unique Y shaped Inserts (YI) in air heater which exhibited less friction loss due to its geometric design and perforations having a Thermal Enhancement Factor (TEF) of 3.09 the cold storage has showcased exemplary performance attaining a Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 3.14, with energy consumption of 0.6 kWh producing – 65 ml of water during the operational time of 39 minutes. Triple achievement that is COP enhancement of 18.93 % and energy consumption reduction of 25 % is along with the production of indispensable fresh water as an additional output is obtained in this study.