Transaera, a manufacturing startup out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, is developing a hybrid cooling solution with desiccant dehumidification technology based on novel materials discovered at MIT to solve the cooling challenge.The cooling solution is designed to operate a high efficiency room air conditioner in parallel with a moisture storage battery (MSB) to provide cooling and dehumidification while using dramatically less energy.

By separating the temperature and humidity control processes, this air conditioner has the potential to reduce the energy consumption significantly while providing the desired comfort level. Humid air is difficult to cool because of the large amount of water vapor in the air. Transaera’s Moisture Storage Battery (MSB), comprising of a novel desiccant material, has the capacity to adsorb a large amount of moisture allowing room air to dehumidify. Dry air is easier to cool with the high-efficiency AC unit, thus reducing the overall electricity consumption. Additionally, while typical desiccant materials require a high-temperature source for regeneration, the MSB material can regenerate using waste heat from the vapor compression system as and when it gets saturated, thus reducing the energy consumption of the overall solution. The system also has a provision for direct evaporative cooling of air at the condenser inlet to improve condensing efficiency, a small integrated solar PV panel and battery to reduce grid-consumption and collects rain-water for use to improve the overall environmental impact of the solution.