Building solar cooling systems based on thermally driven chillers as an alternative approach to classic electrical cooling systems

Abstract

Recently, the cooling market has witnessed a significant growth resulting in a considerable increase in the demand for electricity. Demand peaks during the hottest days and has become a serious problem in terms of power network stability. This can be seen during summer in Poland, where electricity demand over those few days, is greater than compared to winter. In general, the summer peak in electrical demand due to space cooling installations is a common problem in European countries. Fortunately, the high availability of solar energy is correlated with the cooling demands of buildings. A condition that creates an opportunity for the application of solar cooling systems. Thus, solar energy may reduce the consumption of power produced from conventional energy sources and at the same time reduce the peak of electrical energy demand. The available solar thermal collectors with sufficient and insufficient temperature output to drive the solar cooling process are presented. In the case of insufficient temperature output, auxiliary units have been considered. The absorption technology has been reviewed. Some simulation and experimental results of systems presented in literature are discussed in the paper. Finally, an example simulation of a hybrid solar system of heat generation, including flat plate collectors, a solar concentrator and an absorption chiller, is presented.

Keywords

• solar space cooling
• solar concentrator
• absorption cooling
• building installation
• dynamic simulation access