Abstract
Final energy consumption in the residential sector is increasing, even in countries with favourable climate conditions and technological capacity to promote the use of renewable resources and energy efficiency. Air conditioning systems based on absorption cycles are common solutions in solar assisted installations. In this paper, the main characteristics of the Gijón Solar Cooling Laboratory (GSCL) are summarized, showing its ability to test cooling machines with a variety of heat sources and sinks, as well as different technologies and strategies. An absorption machine with internal energy storage in LiCl salts has been tested at the GSCL, measuring power and temperatures as a function of time during several charging and discharging cycles. During the charging cycles, the operation of the machine was analysed for various hot temperatures and power values. In the discharging cycles, special attention was paid to the refrigeration capacity produced for various chilled water temperatures. The results led to coefficient of performance COP values that are in line with those expected for this technology. Satisfactory operation of the system seems difficult at activation temperatures below 75 °C. For low levels of insolation, this limitation could lead to an increase in auxiliary energy consumption.
Highlights
Introduction60% in 2015 compared to 1990, with oil and coal as dominant fuels
World total energy supply, excluding international aviation and marine bunkers, increased by60% in 2015 compared to 1990, with oil and coal as dominant fuels
Energy consumption in the residential sector and the resulting CO2 emissions differ from one country to another as a consequence of geographic, social, political and economic factors
Summary
60% in 2015 compared to 1990, with oil and coal as dominant fuels. This growth was driven by Asia, whereas European share of energy supply fell from 37% to 19%, and that of the United States dropped from 23% to 16%, in the same period [1]. The housing sector is one of the highest energy consumers around the world, with a final energy consumption of around 23% in 2015 [2]. Buildings and industries each use half of the electrical energy consumed globally, with respective global CO2 emissions of 8.4%. Energy consumption in the residential sector and the resulting CO2 emissions differ from one country to another as a consequence of geographic, social, political and economic factors. The recent evolution of final energy consumption in several countries [2] demonstrates the need to improve energy efficiency in buildings and using renewable resources, as consumption is growing even in technologically developed countries with favourable climatic conditions, such as Italy and Spain (Figure 1)
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