Thermal systems energy optimization using multifunctional hybrid clean solar energy joined with chiller-based cooling: Effects of solar-assisted system on efficiency

Abstract

Jeddah is a city in Saudi Arabia with a high temperature along with high solar intensity. Cooling needs in this area are very significant and therefore in this study, solar energy was incorporated into HVAC system to shrink the energy demand. An office building with an annually internal heat gain of 59,556 kWh/year accomplished with a schedule of 8 AM to 7 PM was considered and a chiller-based cooling was used. Results show if the winter temperature is set at 20 °C, the heat gains can adjust the temperature in the winter at the setpoint without consuming thermal energy. The optimal angle for the collectors was calculated and it was found that the radiation intensity over the collector is higher than the horizontal one by 92 kWh/m2year. It was found that the energy-consuming is 128901 kWh/year. For the range of 25–27 °C, energy-consuming was higher by 1256 kWh/year. The solar system was added to the chiller-based cooling and it was found that the absorbed solar declined energy-consuming by 28.1%. If nanoparticles of Cu were also added to water, better performance was recorded by calculating values of 30.6% (at 0.1 wt%) and 33% (at 0.2 wt%).