Choice of thermal energy system for solar absorption cooling

Abstract

It is essential to operate a solar vapour absorption cooling system only at design conditionsin order to maximize the saving of conventional electrical energy. The paper deals with the analysis of a solar thermal energy system by coupling the collector field, an auxiliary thermal energy source, the thermal energy reservoir and the generator of the absorption chiller in a single closed loop, thus ensuring optimum performance of the chiller at design conditions. This analysis is preceded by a quasi steady-state analysis for the system without the auxiliary source to obtain the temperature history of the reservoir, the hourly thermal energy availability and the resulting cooling effect. The comparative results of the two systems highlight the importance of auxiliary thermal energy source in mximizing the electrical energy saving. The utility of auxiliary energy input is highly attractive because of its high effective COP and higher equivalent electrical conversion efficiency.