TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS FOOD DESERTS: HYBRID APPLICATION OF COMBINED HEAT AND POWER ASSISTED BY SOLAR DEHUMIDIFICATION FOR CORNER STORE GROCERIES

Abstract

The existence of food deserts in urban areas in the United States has become an increasing problem over the past two decades. Large grocers have abandoned these areas all over the U.S. One way of neutralizing this trend is by supporting corner stores, the number of which has grown as large groceries have abandoned these areas, as an avenue to provide residents healthier food options. These stores are approximated in urban communities to be accessible to nearly all residents – e.g., within walking distance. However, the affordability of this food is crucial. Corner store markets generally have very slim profit margins. Any additional cost burden likely is enough to push them into the red. Given that corner stores run on extremely low profit margins, any increase in operational costs, which would be the case were refrigerated cases to display healthy food added to the stores, makes healthy food addition unlikely. This study aims to improve consider ways to help corner stores affordably be able to sustain access to healthy food from an economic standpoint. Four designs are considered in this research. The purpose of the first design is to investigate the potential energy savings from incorporation of the most cost-effective energy savings options and from an integrated solar dehumidification system with HVAC in a typical corner store, along with state-of-the-art energy saving options. Fundamentally, the aim is to design the lowest energy, economically feasible corner store possible. The second design demonstrates the energy effectiveness a solar air heater with a dehumidification system to maintain the internal climate in an agriculture greenhouse. The third design consider the addition of two separate systems into the model of the corner store considered in the first design: namely a CHP and a connecting agricultural greenhouse. The CHP linkage to the greenhouse is obvious. Waste heat from the CHP can be used to heat the greenhouse in the winter. The fourth design consider the addition two separate system into the model of the greenhouse developed in the second design: namely an absorption chiller and a solar distill unit. The absorption chiller is used to cool the greenhouse in the summer, and also the rejected heat from the absorption chiller is utilized to pre-heat saline water prior enter the distill system. These variants are considered because both technologies have demonstrated significant energy and cost savings for larger scale markets with reasonable economic payback. No studies to date have considered using these technologies in small or large supermarkets.