Design and optimization of absorption cooling system operating under low solar radiation for residential use

Abstract

In this study, the single-stage ammonia–water (NH3–H2O) absorption cooling system driven by low solar radiation was designed for the residential use. The proposed system was investigated for the different collector type namely flat plate (FPC), evacuated tube (ETC), compound parabolic (CPC), and parabolic trough (PTC). The absorption cooling system was equipped with two thermal energy storage units to obtain a whole day operating. The dynamic evaluation on the basis of hourly data was conducted to evaluate the performance of the system throughout the energy and exergy methods. The system was also evaluated from the economic point of view using net present value method. As conclusion, the system with evacuated tube collector was determined as the most investable one whereas the system with parabolic trough collector was determined as the most efficient one. As a result of NPV calculations, it was seen that the most profitable system was the system using 6726.13 US$ ETC. The highest system exergy efficiency to be obtained with the system using ETC was calculated as 2.6% and the highest system COP was calculated as 0.25.