Temperature and humidity independent control (THIC) air-conditioning system is a promising technology. In this work

a novel temperature and humidity independent control (THIC) system is proposed

namely VMD-ACERS

which integrates vacuum membrane-based dehumidification and air carrying energy radiant air-conditioning system. This work establishes a novel coefficient of performance (COP) model of VMD-ACERS. The main parameters affecting the COP of conventional fan coil unit cooling system (FCUCS) and VMD-ACERS are investigated. The performance of FCUCS and VMD-ACERS are compared

and the energy-saving potential of VMD-ACERS is proved. Results indicate that

for FCUCS

the importance ranking of parameters is basically stable. However

for VMD-ACERS

the importance ranking will be affected by FCU and refrigerant. The most important parameters of VMD-ACERS are condensation temperature and permeate side pressure. On the contrary

superheating

subcooling are relatively less important parameters. For VMD-ACERS

it is not necessary to pursue the membrane with very high selectivity

because the selectivity of membrane would also be a less important parameter when it reaches 500. The COP of VMD-ACERS is higher than that of FCUCS when the permeate side pressure is higher than 8 kPa. The VMD-ACERS solves two technical problems about power-saving and thermal comfort of conventional THIC

and can extend the application of THIC air-conditioning system.