Solar-powered cooling systems: Technical and economic analysis on industrial refrigeration and air-conditioning applications

In the last years, the growing demand for air conditioning has caused a significant increase in demand for primary energy resources. Solar-powered cooling is one of the technologies which allows to obtain, by using the renewable solar source, an important energy saving compared to traditional air conditioning plants. The paper describes different technical installations for solar cooling, their way of operation, advantages and limits. The objective of the present study has been to analyze the technical and economic feasibility of solar absorption cooling systems, designed for two different application fields: industrial refrigeration and air conditioning. The possibility to replace or integrate the existing plants is studied, by considering the refrigeration requirements of a company, which works in meat manufacturing, and the heating and cooling demands of a hotel located in a tourist town in Italy. In the first case, the system comprises an absorption chiller coupled to solar flat plate collectors, whereas the second application is about a hybrid trigeneration plant, known as thermo-solar trigeneration; this option allows having greater operational flexibility at sites with demand for energy in the form of heating as well as cooling, for example in a hotel. In this way the authors could compare different results obtained by a technical and economic experimental analysis based on existing users and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages in order to suggest the best solution for the two studied cases.     

太阳能制冷讲座(3) 太阳能固体转轮式除湿空调(下)

<正>四基于太阳能空气集热器的转轮除湿空调1工作原理典型的基于太阳能空气集热器的转轮除湿空调如图7所示,经太阳能空气集热器加热后的热风,直接流经转轮再生区,再生干燥剂。集热系统主要包括太阳能空气集热器、风机、流量调节与控制部件     

Use of desiccant dehumidification to improve energy utilization in air-conditioning systems in Beirut

Humidity and indoor moist surrounding affect air cleanliness and protects harmful microorganisms when relative humidity is above 70%. In humid climates, the humidity issues are a major contributor to energy inefficiency in HVAC devices. The use of liquid desiccant dehumidification systems of supply air is a viable alternative to reduce the latent heat load on the HVAC system and improve efficiency. Thermal energy, at a temperature as low as 40–50°C, required for the operation of a liquid desiccant hybrid air conditioner can be efficiently obtained using a flat-plate solar collector. In this work a model of a solar-operated liquid desiccant system (using calcium Chloride) for air dehumidification is developed. The system utilizes packed beds of counter flow between an air stream and a solution of liquid desiccant for air dehumidification and solution regeneration. The desiccant system model is integrated with a solar heat source for performance evaluation at a wide range of recorded ambient conditions for Beirut city. Standard mass and energy balances are performed on the various components of the system and a computer simulation program is developed for the integrated system analysis. The desiccant system of the current study replaces a 3 TR (10.56 kW) vapour compression unit for a typical house as low latent load application, and is part of a hybrid desiccant–vapour compression system for a high latent load application, namely a small restaurant with an estimated cooling load of 11.39 TR (40 kW), including reheat. The relevant parameters of the desiccant system are optimized at peak load, and it is found out that there is an important energy saving if the ratio of the air flow rate in the regenerator to that in the dehumidifier is about 0.3 to 0.4. The COP of the desiccant unit is 0.41 for the house, and 0.45 for the restaurant. The size of the vapor compression unit of the restaurant is reduced to 8 TR when supplemented by a desiccant system. The performance is studied of the desiccant system integrated with a solar collector system and an auxiliary natural gas heater to heat the regenerator. The transient simulation of the solar desiccant system is performed for the entire cooling season. The solar fraction for the house is equal to 0.25, 0.47, and 0.68 for a collector area of 28.72, 57.44, and 86.16 m², respectively. The solar fraction for the restaurant is 0.19, 0.38, and 0.54, for the same collector areas. The life cycle savings for the house run solely on desiccant system were positive only if natural gas is available at a cheap price. For the restaurant, the economic benefit of the desiccant system is positive, because the need for reheat in the vapor compression system is eliminated. For a gas price of 0.5638 $/kg, the payback period for the restaurant turned out to be immediate if the energy is supplied solely by natural gas, and 11 years if an 86.16 m² solar collector is implemented to reduce the fuel consumption. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the study of an energy-efficient greenhouse for heating, cooling and dehumidification applications

An analytical model, based on basic heat-transfer processes within a greenhouse, was used to study the performance of heat pump to meet the heating and dehumidification requirements in a greenhouse. Performance parameters of the heat pump, namely the Coefficient of Performance (COP) and the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) of the heat pump were determined, along with the condenser and evaporator capacity ratings required to provide the necessary thermal conditioning to a model-sized greenhouse. Based on a typical weather pattern in Bangkok, the performance of the heat pump to maintain the greenhouse air at a day temperature of 27 °C and night temperature of 18 °C with a relative humidity of 40% spans 1.2–4.0 and 1000–16,000 kJ/kg for COP and SEC, respectively.     

Experimental investigation of a liquid desiccant system for solar cooling and dehumidification

Growing demand for air conditioning in recent years has caused a significant increase in demand for primary energy resources. Solar-powered cooling is one of the environmentally-friendly techniques which may help alleviate the problem. A promising solar cooling method is through the use of a liquid desiccant system, where humidity is absorbed directly from the process air by direct contact with the desiccant. The desiccant is then regenerated, again in direct contact with an external air stream, by solar heat at relatively low temperatures. The liquid desiccant system has many potential advantages over other solar air conditioning systems and can provide a promising alternative to absorption or to solid desiccant systems.Earlier work by the authors included theoretical simulations and preliminary experiments on the key components of the liquid desiccant system. The objective of the present study has been to construct a prototype system based on the knowledge gained, to monitor its performance, identify problems and carry out preliminary design optimization. A 16 kWt system was installed at the Energy Engineering Center at the Technion, in the Mediterranean city of Haifa. The system comprises a dehumidifier and a regenerator with their associated components operating together to dehumidify the fresh (ambient) air supply to a group of offices on the top floor of the building. LiCl-water is employed as the working fluid. The system is coupled to a solar collector field and employs two methods of storage – hot water and desiccant solution in the regenerated state. The performance of the system was monitored for five summer months under varying operating conditions. The paper describes the operation of the experimental system and presents the measured data and the calculated performance parameters.     

Alternative power sources for residential air-conditioning systems

An integrated system which utilise three sources of energy for the purpose of airconditioning (i.e. heating and cooling) a residential building is considered. The system includes a control unit which determines (according to a built-in programmed logic) which energy source is to be used. The system's three power provisions are: (a) line electricity, (b) electric power generated by an appropriate wind turbine and (c) a hot water system heated by solar collectors. System requirements and operation were simulated by a computer program which calculated the air-conditioning load and the energy provisions throughout a twenty-four hour period. In winter operation, about 68 per cent of the required heating was supplied by solar heating and 32 per cent by wind-generated power and in summer operation, in a typical day, all the required cooling energy was provided by wind-generated power.     

太阳能液体除湿空调性能的实验研究

在对液体除湿机理研究的基础上，建立了太阳能液体除湿空调系统实验台，采用氯化钙溶液作为除湿剂，对系统的除湿性能进行了实验研究，对影响除湿的各主要因素进行了分析。     

VAV空调系统应用问题探讨

本文对变风量空调系统在实际应用过程中出现的一些问题进行了研究。从设计、安装和操作维护等方面分析了导致这些问题的原因。同时,对变风量空调系统的设计和应用提出一些建议。     

太阳能制冷讲座(5) 太阳能吸附制冷技术(下)

<正>五太阳能吸附空调研究及实例太阳能吸附制冷在过去的二三十年里开始被广泛研究。太阳能吸附制冷的实验研究也开始逐渐增多。1986年,Pons和Guillemiont使用6m~2的集热器驱动吸附机制冰,在太阳辐射达到22MJ/(m~2·d)时,每天可制得冰块30～35kg。     

太阳能制冷讲座(4) 太阳能吸附制冷技术(上)

阐述了太阳能吸附制冷技术的运行原理、性能参数和系统基本设计方法,介绍了太阳能吸附空调系统国内外工程应用情况,并对其应用前景进行了分析和总结。     

Solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high temperature cooling in subtropical city

Although solar energy is able to power the heat-driven refrigeration, its contribution is quite limited due to the conventional cooling requirement. In building air-conditioning, it is common to supply low temperature chilled water, usually in 5–7 °C. If this temperature can be elevated, it would enhance the effectiveness to harness solar energy and minimize auxiliary heating. Solar refrigeration would then be more effective through high temperature cooling, by providing 15–18 °C chilled water instead. In such provision, radiant ceiling cooling can be coupled to handle the space cooling load, particularly space sensible load. And the space latent load and ventilation load are handled by a separate dehumidification provision, like the heat-driven desiccant dehumidification. Therefore, a solar hybrid air-conditioning system is formulated, using adsorption refrigeration, chilled ceilings and desiccant dehumidification. In this study, the year-round performances of the proposed solar hybrid air-conditioning systems were evaluated for two typical office types. The performance metrics include the solar fraction, coefficient of performance, solar thermal gain, primary energy consumption and indoor conditions. Comparative study was conducted for the hybrid air-conditioning system worked with the three common types of chilled ceilings, namely the chilled panels, passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. The solar hybrid air-conditioning system was also benchmarked with the conventional vapour compression refrigeration for office use. It is found that the proposed solar hybrid air-conditioning system is technically feasible through high temperature cooling. Among the three types of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams is the most energy-efficient option to work with the solar adsorption refrigeration for space conditioning in the subtropical city.     

Modelling and performance analysis of a cross-flow type plate heat exchanger for dehumidification/cooling

This paper describes the performance analysis of a cross-flow type plate heat exchanger for use as a liquid desiccant absorber (dehumidifier) and indirect evaporative cooler. The proposed absorber can be described as a direct contact, cross-flow, heat and mass exchanger, with the flow passages separated from each other by thin plastic plates. One air stream (primary air) is sprayed by liquid desiccant solution, while the other stream (secondary air) is evaporatively cooled by a water spray. Each thin plate, besides separating the water/air passage from the solution/air passage, also provides the contact area for heat and mass transfer between the fluids flowing in each passage. A parametric study for the primary air stream at 33°C, 0.0171 kg/kg humidity ratio and secondary air stream at 27°C and 0.010 kg/kg humidity ratio using calcium chloride solution was performed in this study. The results showed a strong dependence on the heat and mass transfer area, solution concentration and ratio of secondary to primary air mass flow rates. However, negligible differences were found between the performance of a counter flow and a parallel flow arrangement. The results demonstrate that the proposed absorber will not offset both the latent and sensible load of the primary air and, therefore, an auxiliary cooler or more dehumidification/indirect evaporative cooling stages will generally be required to meet the sensible and latent load in a typical comfort application.     

Life-cycle cost analysis for constant-air-volume and variable-air-volume air-conditioning systems

This study presents a life-cycle cost analysis using detailed load profiles and initial and operating costs to evaluate the economic feasibilities of constant-air-volume (CAV) and variable-air-volume (VAV) air-conditioning systems. The present-worth cost method for life-cycle cost analysis is applied to a sample building located in Adana, Turkey which can be conditioned with CAV or VAV systems. In the analysis, two different uses of the building (as a school or as an office center), two different operating scenarios for air-conditioning system (scenario 1 and scenario 2) and two different economic measures (developed and developing economy) are considered. It is found, for all the cases considered, that although initial cost of the VAV system is higher than that of the CAV system, the present-worth cost of the VAV system is lower than that of the CAV system at the end of the lifetime due to lower fan-operating costs.     

Energy and economic performance analysis of an open cycle solar desiccant dehumidification air-conditioning system for application in Hong Kong

In this article, a transient simulation model and the EnergyPlus were used to study the energy performance and economical feasibility for integrating a solar liquid desiccant dehumidification system with a conventional vapor compression air-conditioning system for the weather condition of Hong Kong. The vapor compression system capacity in the solar assisted air-conditioning system can be reduced to 19 kW from original 28 kW of a conventional air-conditioning system as a case study due to the solar desiccant cooling. The economical performance of the solar desiccant dehumidification system is compared with that of the conventional air-conditioning system. The results show that the energy saving potentials due to incorporation of the solar desiccant dehumidification system in a traditional air-conditioning system is significant for the hot wet weather in Hong Kong due to higher COP resulted from higher supply chilled water temperature from chiller plants. The annual operation energy savings for the hybrid system is 6760 kWh and the payback period of the hybrid system is around 7 years. The study shows that the solar assisted air-conditioning is a viable technology for utilizations in subtropical areas.     

Working fluids for solar,rankine-cycle cooling systems

Data are presented on the selection of appropiate working fluids suitable for solar cooling of buildings. Safety operation, system reliability, fluid thermal stability, pressure drop, heat transfer rates, and maximum allowable heat flux have been investigated for halogenated and fluorinated compounds in several prototype developments that are presently under construction. The results indicate that refrigerant R-113, followed by fluorinert fluid FC-88, are potential candidate working fluids for this type of application.     

太阳能固体转轮式除湿空调（上）

介绍了太阳能固体转轮式除湿空调,根据采用集热器类型的不同,除湿空调可分为热水驱动和热风驱动.详述了不同太阳能固体转轮式除湿空调循环系统的基本原理和特点,并对研究进展和应用前景进行了总结.     

An experimental study of a cross-flow type plate heat exchanger for dehumidification/cooling

The thermal and dehumidification behaviour of a standard cross-flow type plate heat exchanger, intended for use as a dehumidifier/cooler, has been investigated both experimentally and numerically. Three sets of experiments have been carried out where air is blown into the primary and secondary sides of the exchanger, while water and liquid desiccant were being sprayed in a counter flow arrangement. The first set represents the indirect evaporative cooling of the primary stream by the secondary air stream. The second set is with liquid desiccant only and no indirect evaporative cooling. In the third set of experiments the primary air stream is indirectly evaporatively cooled by the secondary air stream and dehumidified by the liquid desiccant sprayed into the primary side of the exchanger. The above experiments indicate that the heat exchanger performs well when used with liquid desiccant. Furthermore, for an exchanger angle of 45°, there is an optimum value of air mass flow rate at which the effectiveness and dehumidification efficiency of the plate heat exchanger are maxima. To investigate the effect of the ambient air conditions on the PHE performance, further experiments were carried out using a heater element and a humidifier. The results show that under laboratory conditions the exchanger effectiveness and dehumidification efficiency increase with increasing primary air inlet temperature and humidity ratio. The experimental results were used to validate a computer model developed for the cross-flow type plate heat exchanger/dehumidifier. Comparison indicates that the numerical results are in good agreement with the experiments.     

Review of latent thermal energy storage systems for solar air-conditioning systems

Solar air conditioning is an important approach to satisfy the high demand for cooling given the global energy situation. The application of phase-change materials (PCMs) in a thermal storage system is a way to address temporary power problems of solar air-conditioning systems. This paper reviews the selection, strengthening, and application of PCMs and containers in latent thermal storage system for solar air-conditioning systems. The optimization of PCM container geometry is summarized and analyzed. The hybrid enhancement methods for PCMs and containers and the cost assessment of latent thermal storage system are discussed. The more effective heat transfer enhancement using PCMs was found to mainly involve micro-nano additives. Combinations of fins and nanoadditives, nanoparticles, and metal foam are the main hybrid strengthening method. However, the thermal storage effect of hybrid strengthening is not necessarily better than single strengthening. At the same time, the latent thermal storage unit has less application in the field of solar air-conditioning systems, especially regarding heat recovery, because of its cost and thermal storage time. The integration of latent thermal storage units and solar air-conditioning components, economic analysis of improvement technology, and quantitative studies on hybrid improvement are potential research directions in the future.     

A simulation model for the performance of a hybrid liquid desiccant system during cooling and dehumidification

A finite difference model describing simultaneous heat and mass transfer in a hybrid liquid desiccant cooling system is presented in this paper. This type of system provides cooled and dehumidified air by a combination of a packed absorber tower and a conventional vapour compression system. The model will allow the prediction of the rate of condensation in the dehumidification tower and the evaporator of the vapour compression system, the conditions of the air and liquid desiccant leaving the tower, the conditions of the air leaving the evaporator, and other important parameters. The mathematical model results were validated with existing experimental data for a similar system with an uncertainty of 10.5% for the total rate of condensation and 0.8°C for the evaporator air exit temperature. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.