Abstract
Use of district heating and cooling systems has many environmental advantages compared to individual heating and cooling. Recent advances in solar energy technologies for heat and power generation have reduced their cost and promoted their use instead of fossil fuels. Solar-PV energy for electricity generation and solar thermal energy for hot water production are broadly used today. Solar energy resources in the Mediterranean region are abundant while space cooling in buildings is required when solar irradiance is high. The possibility of using solar energy for fuelling water chillers providing cold water in district cooling systems in the Mediterranean basin has been investigated. Existing literature and studies concerning the use of district cooling systems globally as well as the energy sources used in them have been examined. Solar-PV energy combined with compression chillers and solar thermal energy combined with thermally driven chillers can be used for cold water production. Their overall efficiencies, converting solar energy to cold water, vary between 22% and 56% compared with 45% for compression chillers using grid electricity. It is concluded that various solar energy technologies could be used with different types of water chillers for fuelling district cooling networks in the future in the Mediterranean region.
Highlights
The need to cope with climate change makes necessary the use of more efficient and low carbon emissions energy systems
district cooling (DC) systems consist of an efficient and sustainable energy technology providing air-conditioning in buildings, resulting in the mitigation of climate change
Support from the local authorities regarding the establishment of a regulating framework and offering financial subsidies is probably required for the development of DC systems in the region
Summary
The need to cope with climate change makes necessary the use of more efficient and low carbon emissions energy systems. District heating (DH) is broadly used in central and northern European countries while district cooling (DC) is less used in Europe and worldwide. Combined use of renewable energies with DHC systems is very desirable in order to reduce carbon emissions and to mitigate climate change. Mediterranean countries have huge solar energy resources which are currently used for heat and power generation. Their use in district cooling systems has not been developed commercially so far the need for space cooling coincides with periods of high solar irradiance
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