Abstract
In this work, we present an absorption cooling system with 35 kW capacity driven by solar thermal energy, installed in the school of Puertecitos, Mexico, an off-grid community with a high level of social marginalization. The cooling system provides thermal comfort to the school’s classrooms through four 8.75-kW cooling coils, while a 110-m2 field of evacuated tube solar collectors delivers the thermal energy needed to activate the cooling machine. The characteristics of the equipment installed in the school were used for simulation and operative analysis of the system under the influence of typical factors of an isolated coastal community, such as the influence of climate, thermal load, and water consumption in the cooling tower, among others. The aim of this simulation study was to determine the best operating conditions prior to system start-up, to establish the requirements for external heating and cooling services, and to quantify the freshwater requirements for the proper functioning of the system. The results show that, with the simulated strategies implemented, with a maximum load operation, the system can maintain thermal comfort in the classrooms for five days of classes. This is feasible as long as weekends are dedicated to raising the water temperature in the thermal storage tank. As the total capacity of the system is distributed in the four cooling coils, it is possible to control the cooling demand in order to extend the operation periods. Utilizing 75% or less of the cooling capacity, the system can operate continuously, taking advantage of stored energy. The cooling tower requires about 750 kg of water per day, which becomes critical given the scarcity of this resource in the community.
Highlights
Renewable energies are an excellent option to provide electrical energy services, cooling, heating, food dehydration, and desalination, among others, in remote places where traditional fuels are not available or are difficult to acquire [1]
Decentralized low-capacity electrical systems installed in consumption centers, known as microgrids, enable services to be brought to isolated regions where traditional electrification technologies are difficult to access [2] and, based on a combination with renewable energy sources, prevent the continued emission of large quantities of pollutants into the environment
Absorption cooling technologies are an attractive option for the climatization of spaces because they can be driven by low-temperature thermal energy [7] without the use of large amounts of electrical energy [8], being able to use solar heating technologies as sources of activation [9]
Summary
Renewable energies are an excellent option to provide electrical energy services, cooling, heating, food dehydration, and desalination, among others, in remote places where traditional fuels are not available or are difficult to acquire [1]. Absorption cooling technologies are an attractive option for the climatization of spaces because they can be driven by low-temperature thermal energy [7] without the use of large amounts of electrical energy [8], being able to use solar heating technologies as sources of activation [9]. They have great technological maturity, economic profitability, and high efficiency [10], as well as a great possibility of energy integration with other technologies to offer other services simultaneously, such as desalination [11]
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