Building air conditioning system using fuel cell: Case study for Kuwait

Air conditioning machines in Kuwait consume more than 75% of electric energy generated at peak load time. It is in the national interest of Kuwait to decelerate the continuous increase of peak electric power demand. One way to do this is to install for new complexes or high-rise apartments buildings distributed utilities (isolated small power plants), mainly for air conditioning A/C systems. Fuel cells are among the alternatives considered for distributed utilities.This paper discusses the use of commercially available phosphoric acid fuel cell PAFC, known as ONSI P25 to operate air conditioning systems for big buildings in Kuwait.The proposed fuel cell, which is usually delivered with built-in heat exchanger for hot water, is operated by natural gas and uses a propylene glycol-water loop to recover thermal energy. The PAFC has 200 kW nominal electric power capacity, and produces thermal energy of 105 kW thermal energy at 120 °C, and 100 kW at 60 °C.The performance characteristics for the proposed fuel cell are very well documented. In the present study, it is suggested that the fuel cell operates combined mechanical vapor compression and absorption water chillers to utilize the fuel cell full output of electric power and waste heat. Also, to meet the required A/C cooling capacity system by the limited fuel cell power output, it is proposed to use cold storage technique. This allows fuel cell power output to supply the needed energy for average as well as peak A/C system capacity.     

Case study and theoretical analysis of a solar driven two-stage rotary desiccant cooling system assisted by vapor compression air-conditioning

In this paper, a solar hybrid desiccant air conditioning system, which combines the technologies of two-stage desiccant cooling (TSDC) and air-source vapor compression air-conditioning (VAC) together, has been configured, experimentally investigated and theoretically analyzed. The system mainly includes a TSDC unit with design cooling capacity for 10 kW, an air-source VAC unit with 20 kW in nominal cooling capacity, a flat plate solar collector array for 90 m², a hot water storage tank and a cooling tower. Performance model of the system has been created in TRNSYS simulation studio. The objective of this paper is to report the test result of the solar hybrid air conditioning system and evaluate the energy saving potential, thereby providing useful data for practical application. Experimental results show that, under typical weather condition, the solar driven desiccant cooling unit can achieve an average cooling capacity of 10.9 kW, which contributes 35.7% of the cooling capacity provided by the hybrid system. Corresponding average thermal COP is over 1.0, electric COP is up to 11.48. Under Beijing (temperate), Shanghai (humid) and Hong Kong (extreme humid) weather conditions, the solar TSDC unit can remove about 57%, 69% and 55% of the seasonal moisture load, thereby reducing electric power consumption by about 31%, 34% and 22%, respectively. These suggest that the solar hybrid system is feasible for a wide range of operating conditions.     

An investigation of the solar powered absorption refrigeration system with advanced energy storage technology

This paper presented a new solar powered absorption refrigeration (SPAR) system with advanced energy storage technology. The advanced energy storage technology referred to the Variable Mass Energy Transformation and Storage (VMETS) technology. The VMETS technology helped to balance the inconsistency between the solar radiation and the air conditioning (AC) load. The aqueous lithium bromide (H₂O-LiBr) was used as the working fluid in the system. The energy collected from the solar radiation was first transformed into the chemical potential of the working fluid and stored in the system. Then the chemical potential was transformed into thermal energy by absorption refrigeration when AC was demanded. In the paper, the working principle and the flow of the SPAR system were explained and the dynamic models for numerical simulation were developed. The numerical simulation results can be used to investigate the behavior of the system, including the temperature and concentration of the working fluid, the mass and energy in the storage tanks, the heat loads of heat exchanger devices and so on. An example was given in the paper. In the example, the system was used in a subtropical city like Shanghai in China and its operating conditions were set as a typical summer day: the outdoor temperature varied between 29.5 °C and 38 °C, the maximum AC load was 15.1 kW and the total AC capacity was 166.1 kW h (598.0 MJ). The simulation results indicated that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system was 0.7525 or 0.7555 when the condenser was cooled by cooling air or by cooling water respectively and the storage density (SD) was about 368.5 MJ/m³. As a result, the required solar collection area was 66 m² (cooling air) or 62 m² (cooling water) respectively. The study paves the road for system design and operation control in the future.     

Thermal storage in an air conditioning system with dual energy storage unit

在自行搭建的双蓄能实验平台上进行了制冷兼蓄热实验研究,对比了制冷兼蓄热模式和一般制冷模式,探讨了不同冷冻水流量和不同风机盘管风量对机组性能的影响.实验结果表明:蓄热对机组制冷端的影响很小,但是由于回收了大量的冷凝热,使得机组的综合能效比得到大幅提高,因此蓄热对空调节能具有较大作用.此外,在制冷兼蓄热模式下,冷冻水流量或风机盘管风量越大,机组的综合能效比越大,当风量为1033 m³/h,冷冻水流量为972 L/h时,机组综合能效比高达7.06.     

不同地区住宅能耗与太阳能吸收式空调系统匹配性分析与模拟研究

为了满足农村住宅清洁用能的需求,多种形式的能源系统逐渐开始应用于广大的农村地区。随着太阳能集热器集热效率的提高,热驱动机组各项性能不断改善,这样有利于太阳能吸收式空调系统在农村地区的应用。为了研究太阳能吸收式空调系统与农村住宅全年能耗的匹配问题,文章首先建立了DeST住宅模型,然后利用TRNSYS软件建立了太阳能吸收式空调系统模型,最后根据模拟结果对国内不同气候区内农村住宅供热季、供冷季的平均热负荷值,以及全年的能耗进行分析。此外,文章还分析了典型日太阳能吸收式空调系统的运行策略与效果。分析结果表明:在无辅助热源的条件下,太阳能集热器的集热温度会大于80℃,满足空调机组的热驱动温度,因此可以作为太阳能吸收式空调系统的的热源;当启动温度为85℃时,空调机组的制冷量可以达到8 kW,性能系数COP为0.733。     

Methodology for the energy analysis of an air cooled GAX absorption heat pump operated by natural gas and solar energy

In this work a methodological analysis and energy evaluation of an air cooled absorption system, with generator–absorber heat exchange (GAX), and operated by a hybrid natural gas–solar energy source is presented. Given the characteristic non-linearity of the resulting system of equations, the methodology proposed envisages a calculation sequence for the external currents and an iterative procedure for the internal currents.The system studied intents to be an alternative for space conditioning in the residential sector, the unit was designed with a capacity of 10.6 kW (3 Ton) of cooling and uses as working fluid ammonia–water. Giving priority to internal energy integration, an arrangement is proposed for the GAX cycle that allows 19% of solar contribution at full load, being greater at partial loads. In spite of using ambient air up to 40 °C with a relative humidity of 24% as cooling source, a COP value of 0.86 for cooling and 1.86 for heating was calculated, with an internal energy integration of 16.9 kW, 37% more than the energy that is supplied to the generator.     

Transient simulation of a solar-based hydrogen production plant with evacuated tube collector and ejector refrigeration system

This article is a careful examination of an energy poly-generation unit integrated with an evacuated solar thermal tube collector. A proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis unit is used for hydrogen production, an ejector refrigeration system (ERS) is utilized for cooling demand, and a heater unit is used for heating demand. All sub-systems are validated by considering recent articles. Cooling and heating demand, as well as the net output power are calculated. The modeled poly-generation system's exergy and energy efficiency are maximized by considering the inlet temperature of the heat exchanger and primary pressure of the ejector with the parametric evaluation of the system. The proposed poly-generation set-up can produce cooling load, heating load, and hydrogen with amounts of 5.34 kW, 5.152 kW, and 63 kg/year, respectively. Based on these values, the energy ef?ciency, and exergy ef?ciency are computed to be 64.14%, and 49.62%, respectively. Higher energy and exergy ef?ciencies are obtained by reducing high pressure of the refrigeration cycle or decreasing the temperature outlet of an auxiliary heater. The heat exchanger and thermal energy storage unit have the highest cost rate among all system components with 73,463 $ and 46,357, respectively. Parametric study indicates that the main determinative elements in the total cost rate of the system are the heater, and the solar collector.     

Cooling performance of a vertical ground-coupled heat pump system installed in a school building

This paper presents the cooling performance of a water-to-refrigerant type ground heat source heat pump system (GSHP) installed in a school building in Korea. The evaluation of the cooling performance has been conducted under the actual operation of GSHP system in the summer of year 2007. Ten heat pump units with the capacity of 10 HP each were installed in the building. Also, a closed vertical typed-ground heat exchanger with 24 boreholes of 175 m in depth was constructed for the GSHP system. To analyze the cooling performance of the GSHP system, we monitored various operating conditions, including the outdoor temperature, the ground temperature, and the water temperature of inlet and outlet of the ground heat exchanger. Simultaneously, the cooling capacity and the input power were evaluated to determine the cooling performance of the GSHP system. The average cooling coefficient of performance (COP) and overall COP of the GSHP system were found to be ～8.3 and ～5.9 at 65% partial load condition, respectively. While the air source heat pump (ASHP) system, which has the same capacity with the GSHP system, was found to have the average COP of ～3.9 and overall COP of ～3.4, implying that the GSHP system is more efficient than the ASHP system due to its lower temperature of condenser.     

Performance of hybrid refrigeration system using ammonia

This paper investigates the performance of a hybrid refrigeration system that combines sorption–conventional vapour compression refrigeration machine driven by dual source (heat and/or electricity). The dual source makes the system highly flexible and energy efficient. The ammonia refrigerant (R717) is used in both adsorption and associated conventional refrigeration cycles. The model of thermal compressor corresponds to a multiple pair of compact adsorption generators operating out of phase with both heat and mass recovery for continuous cooling production and better efficiency. Each generator is based on a plate heat exchanger concept using the activated carbon–ammonia pair. The model of conventional vapour compressor is a reciprocating compressor from Frigopol. The hybrid refrigeration performances are presented mainly for ice making and air conditioning applications (T_C = 40 °C, −5 °C < T_E < 20 °C). The exhaust temperature of the compressor (driving temperature for thermal compressor) varies from 90 °C to 250 °C. The results show a cooling production ranging from 4 kW to 12 kW with back-up mode (both cycles not operating simultaneously) and from 8 kW to 24 kW with complementary mode (both cycles operating simultaneously). The effective overall COP based on the total equivalent heat rate input varies from 0.24 to 0.76.     

An experimental study on multi‐purpose desiccant integrated vapor‐compression air‐conditioning system

In this paper, a multi‐purpose hybrid desiccant integrated vapor‐compression air‐conditioning system of a small capacity is experimentally investigated. The system, referred as hybrid desiccant‐assisted air conditioner (HDAC), is designed to meet the cooling load of spaces having large latent heat portions and at the same time to extract water from atmospheric air. The system is mainly consisted of a liquid‐desiccant dehumidification unit integrated with a vapor‐compression system (VCS). The dehumidification unit uses lithium chloride (LiCl) solution as the working material. The effect of different parameters, such as desiccant solution flow rate, process airflow rate, evaporator and condenser temperatures, strong solution concentration and regeneration temperature on the performance of the system, is studied. This system has a water recovery rate of 6.7 l/h TR (1.91 l/h kW) of pure water at typical north Egyptian climate (20–30°C dry bulb and 35–45% relative humidity). The HDAC system has a COP as high as 3.8 (an improvement of about 68% over the conventional VCS). The system offers a total cooling capacity of about 1.75 TR (6.15 kW) using a 0.75 TR (2.6 kW) VCS unit. Finally, the proposed system is found to have a payback time of about 10 months without any considerable extra capital cost compared with the known split air‐conditioning system. The results emphasize the potential benefits of the HDAC system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of operating parameters on the performance of a CO2 air conditioning system for vehicles

This paper deals with the effects of the operating parameters on the cooling performance that can be applied for a transcritical CO₂ automotive air conditioning system. The experimental conditions of the performance tests for a CO₂ system and components such as a gas cooler and an evaporator were suggested to compare with the performance of each at the standardized test conditions. This research presents experimental results for the performance characteristics of a CO₂ automotive air conditioning system with various operating conditions such as different gas cooler inlet pressures, compressor speeds and frontal air temperatures/flow rates passing through the evaporator and the gas cooler. Experimental results show that the cooling capacity was more than 4.9 kW and coefficient of performance (COP) was more than 2.4, at each optimum pressure of gas cooler inlet during idling condition. Also, the cooling capacity was about 7.5 kW and COP was about 1.7 at the optimum pressure of gas cooler inlet during driving condition when air inlet temperatures of gas cooler and evaporator were 45 °C and 35 °C, respectively. Therefore, we concluded that the automotive air conditioning system using CO₂ refrigerant has good performance. This paper also deals with the development of optimum high pressure control algorithm for the transcritical CO₂ cycle to achieve the maximum COP.     

Experimental study of hydrogen storage with reaction heat recovery using metal hydride in a totalized hydrogen energy utilization system

Experimental results for hydrogen storage tanks with metal hydrides used for load leveling of electricity in commercial buildings are described. Variability in electricity demand due to air conditioning of commercial buildings necessitates installation of on-site energy storage. Here, we propose a totalized hydrogen energy utilization system (THEUS) as an on-site energy storage system, present feasibility test results for this system with a metal hydride tank, and discuss the energy efficiency of the system. This system uses a water electrolyzer to store electricity energy via hydrogen at night and uses fuel cells to generate power during the day. The system also utilizes the cold heat of reaction heat during the hydrogen desorption process for air conditioning. The storage tank has a shell-like structure and tube heat exchangers and contains 50 kg of metal hydride. Experimental conditions were specifically designed to regulate the pressure and temperature range. Absorption and desorption of 5,400 NL of hydrogen was successfully attained when the absorption rate was 10 NL/min and desorption rate was 6.9 NL/min. A 24-h cycle experiment emulating hydrogen generation at night and power generation during the day revealed that the system achieved a ratio of recovered thermal energy to the entire reaction heat of the hydrogen storage system of 43.2% without heat loss.     

The novel use of phase change materials in refrigeration plant. Part 1: Experimental investigation

Phase change materials (PCMs) have found considerable applications in large air conditioning schemes. PCMs were primarily used to introduce capacitance within a system, which enabled them to take into account the fluctuations in the daily cooling load. However, this technology has been developed recently and integrated into the refrigeration system directly to save energy and for better control. This has been achieved through lowering the temperature of the sub-cooled refrigerant and stabilizing the superheat. A prototype demonstrating this novel use of PCMs in refrigeration systems has been developed and tested. Results show that by lowering the temperature of the sub-cooled refrigerant, up to 8% energy savings can be achieved in the UK climate conditions. By using the PCM heat exchanger as a pre-condenser in a refrigeration system, the system’s COP can be improved by 6%. The benefit achieved by reducing the superheat is somewhat offset by its extra pressure drop, although simulation work has showed elsewhere [F. Wang, The passive use of phase change materials in refrigeration system, Ph.D. thesis, London South Bank University, 2003] that the COP can be improved by 4% using a low pressure drop PCM heat exchanger in any climate zone.     

Performance of a solar air composite heat source heat pump system

For the shortcoming of air source heat pump in heating condition, a composite heat exchanger was designed which integrates fin tube and tube heat exchanger, and it can achieve synchronous and composite heat exchange in one heat exchanger between working fluids, gaseous and liquid heat source. With the above composite heat exchanger as the core component, the Solar Air Composite Heat Source Heat Pump System (SACHP) was developed which has three working modes, including single solar heat source mode, single air heat source mode and solar air dual heat sources mode. A SACHP experiment table was established and conducted a comprehensive experimental study of three working modes of this system in the standard enthalpy difference laboratory. The results show that when the ambient temperature was −15 °C, compared to the single air heat source mode, the dual heat source mode increased 62% in heat capacity and 59% in COP; when the temperature difference of combined heat transfer was 5 °C, compared to the single air heat source mode, the dual heat source mode increased 51% in heat capacity and 49% in COP. Experimental results demonstrate that the application of the solar air composite heat pump technology can accelerate the application process of the solar heat pump in air conditioners for buildings.     

Thermodynamic and economic performance of the LiBr–H2O single stage absorption water chiller

The LiBr–H₂O single stage absorption water chiller, installed at the Municipal CHP plant of the city of Poznan, Poland was examined in order to find its energy performance. The 495 kW water chiller is used for CHP plant technological rooms air conditioning (e.g. control rooms, power supply rooms). The superheated steam (p = 1.0 MPa, t = 250 °C) is the heat source for the generator and cooling water for the absorber and condenser is supplied from the existing cooling water installation. The chilled water temperature is set at 6 °C. On the basis of online temperature and media flow measurements, the system’s energy balance was created. Employing the first law of thermodynamics the energy balance equation was solved and used for the derivation of the chiller’s COP factor. The work’s main goal was to establish the influence of the chiller’s actual load on the energy efficiency of the system.The economic evaluation of cooling energy unit price was carried out on the basis of the measured chiller’s COP factor.     

Aquifer thermal storage (ATES) for air-conditioning of a supermarket in Turkey

A heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system with integrated aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) was designed for a supermarket building in Mersin, a city near the Mediterranean coast in Turkey (36° 49′ N and 34° 36′ E). This is the first ATES application carried out in Turkey. The peak cooling and heating loads of the building are 195 and 74 kW, respectively. The general objective of the system is to use the groundwater from the aquifer to cool down the condenser of the HVAC system and at the same time storing this waste heat in the aquifer. Cooling with groundwater at around 18 °C instead of utilizing outside summer air at 30–35 °C decreases consumption of electrical energy significantly. In addition, stored heat can be recovered when it is needed in winter. The HVAC system with ATES started operation in August 2001 in cooling mode with an average coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.18, which is almost 60% higher than a conventional system.     

Experimental investigation of a multi-function heat pump under various operating modes

Heat pumps have been spotlighted as efficient building energy systems because they have great potentials for energy reduction in building air conditioning and reducing CO₂ emission. In this study, a multi-function heat pump which has the functions of heating, cooling, and hot water supply was designed and its performance was investigated according to operating modes. In the cooling-hot water mode, the capacity and COP were enhanced as compared to other modes because the waste heat from the outdoor heat exchanger was utilized as useful heat in the indoor heat exchanger. In the heating and hot water supply mode, the compressor speed should be increased to get appropriate heating and hot water capacities. For all operating modes, the system could be optimized by adjusting the superheat.     

Performance characteristics of mobile heat pump for a large passenger electric vehicle

In this study, the performance of a mobile heat pump for an electric bus, which uses the wasted heat of electric devices for a heating and air source for a cooling, was evaluated. Both cooling and heating performances of the mobile heat pump were tested under various experimental conditions, and then optimized by varying the refrigerant charge and the compressor frequency. The cooling capacity at all compressor frequencies was over 23.0 kW, which is sufficient for the cooling loads of an electric bus. The heating COP decreased but the heating capacity increased with the rise of outdoor temperature and the compressor frequency. The heating COP was 2.4 at an outdoor temperature of 10.0 °C. The observed heating and cooling performance characteristics of the mobile heat pump means it could be used for cabin heating and air conditioning of an electric vehicle with a short driving range.     

Heat pipe based cold energy storage systems for datacenter energy conservation

In the present paper, design and economics of the novel type of thermal control system for datacenter using heat pipe based cold energy storage has been proposed and discussed. Two types of cold energy storage system namely: ice storage system and cold water storage system are explained and sized for datacenter with heat output capacity of 8800 kW. Basically, the cold energy storage will help to reduce the chiller running time that will save electricity related cost and decrease greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the electricity generation from non-renewable sources. The proposed cold energy storage system can be retrofit or connected in the existing datacenter facilities without major design changes. Out of the two proposed systems, ice based cold energy storage system is mainly recommended for datacenters which are located in very cold locations and therefore can offer long term seasonal storage of cold energy within reasonable cost. One of the potential application domains for ice based cold energy storage system using heat pipes is the emergency backup system for datacenter. Water based cold energy storage system provides more compact size with short term storage (hours to days) and is potential for datacenters located in areas with yearly average temperature below the permissible cooling water temperature (∼25 °C). The aforesaid cold energy storage systems were sized on the basis of metrological conditions in Poughkeepsie, New York. As an outcome of the thermal and cost analysis, water based cold energy storage system with cooling capability to handle 60% of datacenter yearly heat load will provide an optimum system size with minimum payback period of 3.5 years. Water based cold energy storage system using heat pipes can be essentially used as precooler for chiller. Preliminary results obtained from the experimental system to test the capability of heat pipe based cold energy storage system have provided satisfactory outcomes and validated the proposed system concept.