Experimental investigation of a solar-assisted air conditioning system: Energy and life cycle climate performance analysis

Abstract

Among building elements, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems use the most energy. In this regard, effective solutions should be developed to reduce the energy consumption and negative environmental impacts of these systems and improve their efficiency. In addition, the relative coincidence of energy availability and cooling demand makes indoor space cooling a significant possibility for solar energy use. In this study, the effect of air conditioners (ACs) on reducing energy consumption in the case of supporting AC systems used in residential air conditioning with solar energy from renewable energy sources was experimentally studied. For this purpose, if the outdoor temperature in August was 32, 36, and 38 °C, and the indoor temperature was kept at 18, 19, and 20 °C, the performance of the solar-powered AC system was compared with a conventional AC system under the same ambient conditions. For comparison, two rooms with the same internal volume and insulation properties were built. Increasing the input temperature of the compressor saved about 8-28% of the energy. Moreover, the environmental effects of energy savings from the proposed system for the hottest summer times in residential buildings were examined by life-cycle assessment, and depending on the decrease in energy consumption, there was a decrease in emission values between 7.74-28.27%.