A hybrid air-conditioning system that combines an engine-driven chiller with desiccant dehumidification was configured and experimentally tested to provide reliable data for energy consumption and operation cost. The engine performance and the desiccant wheel performance were measured and a numeric model previously set up for dehumidification capacity prediction was validated. For a reference building, the results based upon measured data show that under present electricity/gas price ratio, more than 40% of operation cost can be saved by the hybrid system.
