Pre-Cooling (Refrigeration Stage)
Incoming air passes through DX or chilled water coils, reducing temperature and removing moisture above the 45°F dew point threshold.
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Most systems sell components. You buy a desiccant wheel from one supplier, a refrigeration unit from another, and hope your contractor can integrate them.
The hybrid system DAS engineers — built exclusively through Smart Family of Cooling Products — integrates every element into a single factory-built unit: DX cooling coil, chilled water coil, electric heat, EC fan array, mixing box, and desiccant wheel.
The result is a single factory-built unit with one set of controls, one commissioning process, and one team accountable for total system performance.
Incoming air passes through DX or chilled water coils, reducing temperature and removing moisture above the 45°F dew point threshold.
Pre-cooled air passes through the desiccant wheel, driving the dew point below what refrigeration can achieve alone.
Condenser reject heat from the refrigeration stage is recovered and used to regenerate the desiccant wheel — turning waste energy into useful work. Supplemental electric heat is available when needed, but the primary reactivation energy comes from heat the system is already producing. This is what drives the 30–50% energy reduction compared to standalone desiccant units.
Integrated controls manage the balance between refrigeration and desiccant stages dynamically.
Handles the full range from moderate humidity removal to sub-freezing dew points. Up to 40% more efficient than comparable standalone systems.
Single factory-built unit. One set of controls, one service point. Designed with real-world installation constraints in mind.
Smart Family is the only U.S. manufacturer building fully integrated DX + desiccant air handlers — constructing more than 300 systems annually.
Their manufacturing includes rental-grade and explosion-proof configurations, supporting applications from food processing facilities to defense installations.
DAS is the manufacturer's representative for Smart Family — providing the application engineering and design support that ensures the right system is specified for each project.
We'll tell you if hybrid is the right solution — and what it looks like.