In this paper, an ideal liquid desiccant dehumidification system is presented as the idealization of practical liquid desiccant dehumidification systems, along with an exergy analysis that considers the effects of various parameters like dehumidification temperature, water vapor pressure and temperature of surrounding environment on the system performance. Exergy formulations are developed and validated for the ideal system. These results show that the ideal system is strongly influenced by these impact factors, with respect to operating condition and exergy efficiency, and should be used with caution when comparing with condensation-based dehumidification systems. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.