Development, design, and implementation of a Solar Cooling System

Abstract

Variations in extreme temperatures seriously affect crops, making it necessary to maintain a stable temperature inside the greenhouses between 17°C and 24°C. The conventional air conditioning systems used by the producers are electricity and gas, both highly polluting and expensive. Considering the benefits of alternative energies, this project is developed, which consists of the design, development, and start-up of an experimental research prototype that works with solar energy. The objective is to create a refrigeration system using a parabolic channel with a solar tracker, complemented with an absorption machine that allows maintaining the temperature of a greenhouse at 24°C, an interface in specialized software, and data collection with compact RIO. It is concluded that the prototype performs the heat transfer in such a way that it generates cold with the heat accumulated by the parabolic trough. Operational limits of the parabolic trough, the absorption machine, and the system's feasibility to scale to one- hectare greenhouse was established. It is recommended to continue investigating and implementing strategies that use alternative energies that contribute to reducing polluting emissions into the environment.