Development and Implementation of Solar Assisted Desiccant Cooling Technology in Developing Countries: A Case of Saudi Arabia

Shafiqur Rehman,Md Mahbub Alam,Muhammad M Rafique,Luai M Alhems

doi:10.3390/en13030524

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the potential and feasibility of using solar thermal cooling systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The performance of a desiccant cooling system has been determined based on climatic data of 32 cities spread all over the territory of the country. The investigation has been carried out keeping in view the high energy consumption for cooling applications in the country. The analysis has been done using the overall performance of the system, sensible energy ratio, and cooling and regeneration loads. The main objective of this study is to encourage the implementation of solar thermal cooling systems in the country for the development of sustainable buildings. The economic analysis shows that thermal cooling technology can reduce the cost of cooling units, remarkably. Furthermore, the utilization of the proposed system will decrease the dependence on primary energy resources. The saving factor of the proposed system with 1 ton capacity in comparison to the conventional vapor compression unit is found to be 34.6%. The present study also recommends that the government subsidies and incentives can further improve the development and utilization of solar air conditioning technology in developing countries.

Highlights

Increasing consumption of fossil fuels is a proven reason for adverse local and global climatic changes
Of the basedbased thermal coolingcooling system is analyzed under operating operating conditions summarized in Table
The contribution of renewable energy towards the country’s energy mix of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is negligible and fossil fuels are only used for the production of electricity

Summary

Introduction

Increasing consumption of fossil fuels is a proven reason for adverse local and global climatic changes. The petroleum fuel consumption is expected to reduce slightly but coal, natural gas, renewables, and nuclear-based energy generation will continue to grow even beyond 2040. These adverse climatic changes resulting in global warming have further increased the dependence of human comfort on refrigeration, air conditioning, and other modern technologies that require energy to operate.

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