Abstract
The paper presents a complete solar cooling comparison. A detailed model of a tertiary sector building has been evaluated in three locations (Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Palermo) and coupled with four solar cooling systems: two solar thermal cooling systems (Li-Br absorption chiller and adsorption chiller), a solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling system and a solar electric cooling (Photovoltaic coupled with Compression chiller). A multi-variable optimization procedure selects the optimal size of each component. The results show that the solar cooling system based on absorption chiller satisfied the cooling demand regardless of the site location whilst the performance of the Desiccant Evaporative Cooling system is dramatically affected by ambient conditions. The electric solar cooling option shows the best overall efficiency and appears a costeffective solution despite the high cost of the storage system.
Highlights
The environmental issues and global warming are driving the continuous installation of new air conditioning systems, affecting the consequent increasing demand for electric energy driving the increase in consumption of energy available resources
The Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) solution in Abu Dhabi is discarded and in the following figures, the related values are crossed by a red bar
A multivariable optimization of the minimum budget cost of the plant selects the optimal size of the components under the imposed solar fraction constraint
Summary
The environmental issues and global warming are driving the continuous installation of new air conditioning systems, affecting the consequent increasing demand for electric energy driving the increase in consumption of energy available resources. To improve the efficiency and sustainability of cooling systems, the scientific community is studying new technologies and new air conditioning systems, based on the exploitation of renewable energies. The adoption of solar cooling systems represents the most promising way in terms of primary energy consumption [3]. A different solution, based on the common vapor compression chiller coupled with photovoltaic modules is sometimes not considered a solar cooling system due to the indirect connection between energy source and chiller. After determining the demand profile, the behavior of four solar cooling technologies (absorption chiller, adsorption chiller, DEC system and PV with compression chiller) is evaluated for three different environmental conditions, referring to three selected locations: Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Palermo
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