Optimal design of a novel combined heat source system using solar energy and data center waste heat for desiccant regeneration

Nowadays, the raise of a front-loading dehumidified evaporative cooling system has been a key breakthrough in overcoming the application limitations of evaporative cooling technology. However, the desiccant regeneration process of this system still relies on a traditional heating method, coexisting with a single form of heat source and high energy consumption. To solve these problems, a novel heat source system combining data center waste heat and solar energy was proposed in this paper. Through experimental tests and simulation, the performance of this system was investigated and validated, and the collecting-area and inclination angle of system's collector were reasonably optimized. The results indicate that the novel system not only demonstrates an advantageous performance, but also have the ability to provide regenerative heat in a stable and continuous manner: daily outlet temperature could reach up to 93.36 °C, effective operating hours could be extended by approximately 2 h compared to singular solar heat source, and optimized annual effective operating hours could reach 1036 h with a monthly average outlet temperature ranging from 71.2–90.6 °C. This study can provide a technical support for the application of front-loading dehumidified evaporative cooling system.