SOLAR POWER AIR CONDITIONING

1. INTRODUCTION
Solar energy is one of the most available forms of energy on the Earth’s surface,
besides; it is very Promising and generous. The earth’s surface receives a daily solar dose of 10E+8
KW-hr, which is equivalent to 500 000 billion oil barrels that is one thousand times any oil reserve
known to man.
The solar energy is collector area dependent, and is a diluted form of energy and is
available for only a fraction of the day. Also, its availability depends on several factors such as
latitude and sky Clearness (Duffie & Beckman 1980. At the same time, its system requires high
initial cost. But on the other hand, it has some attractive features such as its system requiring
minimum maintenance and operation cost, and it does not have negative effects on the environment.
Another important feature of solar energy is its ability to satisfy rural areas where conventional
energy systems might be not suitable or uneconomical.
Solar energy is being invested in many forms. The first form is the most familiar and
that is using it for supplying domestic hot water for residences which is the most worldwide spread
form of solar energy use. Another form is the photovoltaic, and these are special cells that transfer
solar energy to electric ones. Also, some power plants are now present that produce electricity from
solar energy (e.g.US Pilot Power Plant of 516 degree Celsius average temperature (Friefeld &
Coleman 1986) and the Japanese experiment stations of 1MW power output (Tanaska 1989).
Some other applications of solar energy being investigated are its use for cooling and
heating of buildings. A lot of research is being conducted for this purpose especially in countries
where there is high availability of solar energy just like in India. Solar energy is abundant in summer
months where there is no heating load, but instead cooling is required. Solar air-conditioning has the
advantage of both the supply of the sunshine and the need for refrigeration reaching maximum levels
in the same season. As a result, solar air-conditioning is the particularly attractive application for
solar energy.

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2. WHY SOLAR COOLING

Throughout the years various methods for heat prevention and reducing indoor
temperatures in the summer have been used. In the Mediterranean area, for example, buildings are
painted in light colours in order to reflect a portion of the solar radiation, especially during the
summer. The alternative cooling strategies are based on various passive and low energy cooling
technologies for protection of the buildings via design measures or special components to moderate
the solar or thermal gains, or to reject the excess heat to the ambient environment. All these
techniques aim to reduce summer cooling loads and electricity demand for air conditioning.
During the summer the demand for electricity increases because of the extensive use
of heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which increase the peak electric load,
causing major problems in the electric supply. The energy shortage is worse during ‘dry’ years
because of the inability of the hydroelectric power stations to function and cover part of the peak
load.
The use of solar energy to drive cooling cycles for space conditioning of most
buildings is an attractive concept, since the cooling load coincides generally with solar energy
availability and therefore cooling requirements of a building are roughly in phase with the solar
incidence.
Solar cooling systems have the advantage of using absolutely harmless working fluids
such as water, or solutions of certain salts. They are energy efficient and environmentally safe. They
can be used, either as stand-alone systems or with conventional air conditioning, to improve the
indoor air quality of all types of buildings. The main goal is to utilize "zero emission" technologies
to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

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3. ARE THE SOLAR COOLING ATTRACTIVE?

Although a large potential market exists for solar cooling technology, existing solar
cooling systems are not directly economically competitive with electricity-driven or gas-fired
HVAC, mainly because of the high investment cost of solar cooling systems and the low prices of
conventional fuels.
Lowering the cost of the different components (solar collectors, chillers…) and
improving their performance will change the situation dramatically, even though it is still difficult to
predict the date when these solar technologies will reach economical maturity.
The comparison of a solar technology with one of conventional energy sources can
only be made if the environmental and societal costs (with externalities, distribution costs and
indirect costs) are included in each case. The unpredictability of conventional fuel prices over long
periods should also be taken into account.
In general we can note for the solar energy technologies that:
 their cost is decreasing as they enter mass production
 they are already technically mature to meet the consumer’s needs
 they are much friendlier than the conventional air conditioning systems
With all this, there is a strong need both for some kind of investment incentive and
also for an energy tax that would help reflect the full environmental costs of conventional fuels. In a
lot of countries, the available subsidies provide a more economically attractive solution.

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4. SOLAR COOLING TECHNOLOGY

Sorption cooling is a technology that uses heat to generate cooling. Compared to conventional
compression cooling, sorption cooling offers several advantages, e.g.:
 Using heat instead of electricity reduces peaks on the electricity grids in the summer.
 Many sorption cycles are based on natural refrigerants.
 Using thermal compression reduces noise levels and maintenance requirements.
Solar radiation on Earth
The sun’s heat and light provide an abundant source of energy that can be harnessed
in many ways.
•Intensity of solar radiation along the earth orbit is 1.368 kW/m2.

•The average earth radius is ≈ 6366 Km.

•Therefore the Amount of insolation (solar radiation) intercepted by the earth

•≈ 174000 x 1012 Watt

•≈ 174000 Tera Watt

•≈ 17000 times the world installed power generation capacity.

Sun is a continuous fusion reactor in which hydrogen is turned into helium. Total
energy output from the sun is 3.8 x 10^20 MW, which is equal to 63 MW/m2 of sun surface. Earth
receives only a tiny fraction of this emitted energy, equal to 1.74 x 10^11 MW (or 341 W/ m2
average). However, even with this small fraction, it is estimated that 84 minutes of solar radiations
falling on earth can satisfy world energy demand for one year (about 900 E Joules).

The amount of solar energy available at any specified place depends upon three factors:
1. Location (latitude and longitude)
2. Date
3. Time of the day

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5. HISTORY OF SOLAR COOLING

In 1974 YAZAKI designed the world’s first solar powered air conditioning system at
“Solar House 1”. In 1977 YAZAKI started the production of its Aroace water fired chillers, which
became quickly known as YAZAKI WFC series. The WFC enabled customers to generate
comfortable conditions independent from electric supplies and opened the door to renewable cooling
solutions.

Over the last 40 years YAZAKI has gained significant experience in developing,
designing and manufacturing absorption chillers. This experience enabled YAZAKI to refine its
technology as well as its range of products, achieving product reliability second to none. Today
YAZAKI is regarded not only as the pioneer of absorption, but also as a worldwide leader for small
to medium sized absorption chillers.

In the late 19th century, the most common fluid for absorption cooling was a solution
of ammonia and water. Today, the combination of lithium bromide and water is also in common use.
One end of the system of expansion/condensation pipes is heated, and the other end gets cold enough
to make ice. Originally, natural gas was used as a heat source in the late 19th century. Today,
propane is used in recreational vehicle absorption chiller refrigerators. Hot water solar thermal
energy collectors can also be used as the modern "free energy" heat source.

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6. CONVENTIONAL COOLING
Air conditioning systems control the temperature, humidity, air movement and air cleanliness inside
a building, in order to provide occupants a comfortable environment with good indoor air quality.
In general, air conditioning system can be categorized into room coolers and centralized systems.
Room coolers, such as window and split-type air-conditioners are most commonly
adopted in residential buildings. The whole refrigerant cycle is completed within the room cooler
machine. The figure below shows the interior structure of a window-type room cooler.

The split air conditioner comprises of two parts: the outdoor unit and the indoor unit.
The outdoor unit, placed outside the room, houses components like the compressor, condenser and
expansion valve. The indoor unit comprises the evaporator or cooling coil and the cooling fan. The
outdoor unit connects with the indoor unit by two refrigerant tubes. The cooling capacity of split-
type air-conditioner is usually larger than that of window-type.

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Centralized air conditioning systems are used for cooling large space or entire
building. Generally the COP (Coefficient of Performance) of centralized air conditioning system is
higher than room coolers.

In centralized air conditioning systems, large compressor, condenser, thermostatic

expansion valve and the evaporator are accommodated in large plant rooms. The components
perform all the functions similar to a typical refrigeration system. However, all these parts are larger
in size and have higher capacities.

Centralized air-conditioning system on the rooftop of a building

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7. SOLAR COOLING

The basic principle behind solar thermal cooling is the thermo-chemical process of
sorption: a liquid or gaseous substance is either attached to a solid, porous material (adsorption) or is
taken in by a liquid or solid material (absorption). This process relies on the principle that water
molecules bind more efficiently to certain sorbent materials than to other water molecules. So, if two
separate bowls – one containing water and the other containing a sorbent - are put into a closed
space, the water will evaporate to get to the sorbent which absorbs or adsorbs the water. If the closed
space is in a state of vacuum, the water will start boiling in order to produce vapor at the same speed
that it is sorbed. Boiling water requires a lot of energy. If the energy is not supplied from outside the
system it will be taken from the water itself, which, as a consequence, gets colder. In essence the
evaporation process transports heat from the water to the sorbent. The temperature difference
increases until the sorbent is no longer able to take more water.
A cooling cycle can be created if the chilled water is used to provide air conditioning
and the sorbed water is liberated from the sorbent by boiling it out with the heat from a solar heated
fluid. The heat transferred to the sorbent also needs to be removed, typically with a wet or dry
cooling tower.
Different technologies of solar assisted cooling systems are then described:
 Absorption cooling
 Adsorption cooling
 Desiccant system

A house using solar power air conditioning

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7.1. ABSORPTION COOLING

Of the various air conditioning alternatives shown in Figure 1, the absorption system
appears to be one of the most promising methods. The absorption cycle is similar in certain respects
to the electrically driven vapour compression machines. A refrigeration cycle is operated with the
condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator if low-pressure vapour from the evaporator can be
transformed into high pressure vapour and delivered to the condenser.

Figure 1: Solar cooling path

The vapour compression system uses a compressor for this task. The absorption
system first absorbs the low pressure vapour in an appropriate absorbing liquid. Embodied in the
absorption process is the conversion of vapour into liquid, and since the process is akin to
condensation, heat must be rejected during the process.
The next step is to elevate the pressure of the liquid with a pump, and the final step
releases the vapour from the absorbing liquid by adding heat. Both cycles can be shown in the same
figure.

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7.1.1. Performance & selection of working pairs for a solar absorption system

Performance of the refrigeration system is represented as a ‘coefficient of

performance (COP)’. It shows how much heat can be removed from a cold region (Q e) for each unit
of energy used (Qg).

For the solar-driven systems, the performance can be written as the product of the
COP and the solar collector efficiency (ηc). Besides, it can be defined as a ratio of the refrigeration
effect and the solar energy input (I) for the thermal-driven systems, which is called ‘system thermal
ratio (STR)’.

Wilbur and Mitchell (1975) compared the Coefficient of Performance (COP) of the
absorption system with the different working fluids. Of the various solar absorption air conditioning
systems, LiBr-H2O and HO-NH3 are the major working pairs available in these systems. It is
reported that the LiBr – H2O pair has higher COP than any other pair of the working fluids.
Though it has a limited range of the operations, due to the onset of the crystallization
occurring at the point of the recuperator discharges into the absorber and stopping solution flows
through the device, the low cost and the excellent performance of this system make it a favorable
candidate for the solar absorption cycle systems. Also by the comparison (Ward 1979; Ward et al
1979), the ammonia water pair has the following disadvantages:
• The coefficient of the performance for the H 2O-NH3 systems is lower than for the LiBr-H 2O
system. Generally, the H2O-NH3 system operates at 10-15% lower solar fraction than the LiBr-H 2O
systems.
• It requires a higher generator inlet temperature. Generally, the LiBr-H 2O system requires the
generator inlet temperature of the 70-88ºC, while the H 2O-NH3 system requires 90-180ºC;which
results in the H2O-NH3 system achieving a lower COP when using a flat plate collector.

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• It requires higher pressures and hence higher pumping power.

• A more complex system requiring a rectifier to separate ammonia and water vapour at the
generator outlet is required.
• There are restrictions on the in-building applications of the ammonia-water cooling units
because of the hazards associated with the use of ammonia.
For these reasons, the LiBr-H2O system is considered to be the better suited for the
solar absorption air conditioning applications.
7.1.2. Single effect solar absorption air-conditioning system

Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of a single effect solar absorption air-
conditioning system. This system has been the basis of most of the experience to date with solar air-
conditioning. Here, the solar energy is gained through the collector, and is accumulated in the
storage tank. Then, the hot water in the storage tank is supplied to the generator to boil off water
vapour from a solution of Lithium Bromide and water.
The water vapour is cooled down in the condenser and then passed to the evaporator
where it again is evaporated at low pressure, thereby providing cooling to the required space.
Meanwhile, the strong solution leaving the generator to the absorber passes through a heat exchanger
in order to preheat the weak solution entering the generator. In the absorber, the strong solution
absorbs the water vapour leaving the evaporator.
Cooling water from the cooling tower removes the heat by mixing and condensation.
Since the temperature of the absorber has a higher influence on the efficiency of the system than the
condensing temperature, the heat rejection (cooling water) fluid, is allowed to flow through the
absorber first, and then to the condenser (Li & Sumathy 2000).An auxiliary energy source is
provided, so that hot water is supplied to the generator when solar energy is not sufficient to heat the
water to the required temperature level needed by the generator.
The main process taking place in the chiller is as follows (as shown in Figure 3).
• Line 1-7: The weak solution from the absorber at point 1 is pumped through the heat exchanger to
the generator; point 7 indicates the properties of the solution at the outlet of the heat exchanger.
During the process 1-7, the concentration of the weak solution is held constant.

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• Line 7-2-3: Process 7-2 shows the sensible heating of the weak solution in the generator, and 2-3
indicates the boiling of water vapour from the solution at the constant condensing pressure Pc

.
Figure 2: Schematic diagram of single effect solar absorption air-conditioning system

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Figure 3: Single-effect absorption cooling cycle.

(although the boiling pressure is a little higher than the condensing pressure, the difference is
negligible). During this process, the weak solution becomes a strong solution.
• Line 3-8: Symbolizes the strong solution passing to the absorber through the heat exchanger, in
which it preheats the weak solution flowing from the absorber to the generator. During this process,
the concentration of the strong solution is constant.
• Line 8-4-1: Indicates the idealized process of absorption of water vapour from the evaporator by
the strong solution in the absorber.
• Line 2-5: Denotes the condensation of water vapour in the condenser by the cooling water from the
cooling tower, at constant condensing pressure Pc.
• Line 5-6: Shows the flow of condensed water from the condenser to the evaporator.
• Line 6-1: Indicates the evaporation of the water in the evaporator due to the prevailing low pressure
Pe. Also, the water absorbs the heat from the space to be cooled. The water vapour from the
evaporator is, in turn, absorbed by the strong solution in the absorber, thus completing the cycle of
refrigeration.
7.1.3. Double-effect solar absorption air-conditioning system

As technical development of absorption chillers allowed for lower generating

temperatures as low as 73°C, the percentage of the solar contribution to air-conditioning become

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higher. The principle of the system is explained by using Figure 4. It is fundamentally a double
effect absorption chiller, where the weak solution is circulated in series. In addition to the
components listed in the single effect system, the double effect convertible system has a high
pressure generator, a secondary heat exchanger and a heat recovery unit (Dai 1997).
The high pressure generator for steam is independently located from the low-pressure
generator for solar and hot water vapour from the high-pressure generator before being condensed. A
high pressure generator gives a primary effect and a low pressure generator a secondary effect, thus
being called a double effect. Therefore, a double effect cycle requires lower heat input to produce the
same cooling effect, when compared to a single effect system. Therefore, a double effect system
results in higher COP.

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Figure 4: Schematic diagram of double effect solar absorption air-conditioning system

7.1.4. Two stage solar absorption air-conditioning system

One of the restrictions for the practical use of the single stage cooling system is an
economical aspect. The capital cost of single stage cooling system is too high. It is reasonable to
lower the solar collector cost by using collector models of a lower temperature range, if the
generator temperature of the chiller can be lowered by using two stages LiBr system instead of
single stage system. Therefore, to bring down the initial cost of the system, the important variable is
the generating temperature.
Alizadeh et al. (1979) have pointed out that the advantages of lowering the generator
temperature are:
1. The ordinary flat plate collectors can be employed, thereby bringing down the cost of the system.
2. Crystallization of the LiBr-H2O solution could be avoided.

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Figure 5: Schematic diagram of two-stage solar absorption air-conditioning system

In order to search for an approach to a more economical solution of solar absorption

air- conditioning, a two-stage LiBr absorption chiller prototype, working on lower temperature heat
source, has been designed and tested successfully by Huang etal. (1991) Initially, the two-stage LiBr
absorption cooling machine was designed for the purpose of low temperature industrial waste heat
recovery, but it seems also suitable for a solar cooling application.
Figure 5 shows the schematic diagram of the two-stage solar absorption air-
conditioning. The cycle is divided into a high-pressure stage and low pressure stage. Diluted LiBr
solution in the high pressure generator is heated by hot water. Generated water vapour is condensed
in the condenser. The condensed water flows into the evaporator (low-pressure stage) to be

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evaporated, producing the refrigerating effect. A concentrated solution from the high-pressure
generator enters into the high-pressure absorber and absorbs water vapour generated from the low-
pressure generator, thus changing back to a diluted solution. This solution is then pumped back to
the high-pressure generator, completing a high-pressure cycle.
The concentrated solution in the low-pressure generator goes down into the low-
pressure absorber and absorbs water vapour from the evaporator. The diluted solution from the low-
pressure absorber is then pumped back to the low-pressure generator, completing a low-pressure
cycle. Thus, refrigerant water is made in the high-pressure stage and the absorbent-concentrated
solution is made in the low pressure stage. So, through the high-pressure absorption process, the
generation process in the low-pressure generator occurs under a low pressure, completing a full
refrigeration cycle.
The two-stage system has the following advantages:
• The cooling system can work steadily though solar input is unsteady;
• The lower generator inlet & outlet temperatures increase instantaneously, and the daily efficiencies
of the solar collector system;
• A required lower operating temperature provides the use a simpler model of a solar collector, e.g.
flat plate collectors, instead of vacuum tube collectors, which are 3-4 times more expensive than the
flat plate collectors, thus reducing the construction cost of the solar system.
The disadvantages of this system are the complexity of the chiller’s construction and
the COP at the nominal generator temperature is lower than the single effect one. Meanwhile, the
amount of cooling water needed is double that of the single effect one, so that the cooling tower
should be larger.

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7.2. ADSORPTION COOLING

Adsorption refrigeration unlike absorption and vapour compression systems is an
inherently cyclical process and multiple adsorbent beds are necessary to provide approximately
continuous capacity. Adsorption systems inherently require large heat transfer surfaces to transfer
heat to and from the adsorbent materials which automatically makes cost an issue. High efficiency
systems require that heat of adsorption be recovered to provide part of the heat needed to regenerate
the adsorbent. These regenerative cycles consequently need multiples of two-bed heat exchangers
and complex heat transfer loops and controls to recover and use waste heat as the heat exchangers
cycle between adsorbing and desorbing refrigerant.
7.2.1. Working principle
Just like a conventional compression chiller, an adsorption chiller uses a cycle where
a refrigerant condenses at high pressure/temperature and evaporates at low pressure/temperature.
However, this cycle is not driven by a mechanical compressor but by a thermal compressor, based on
the sorption reaction of silica gel and water, using heat as driving force. Dry silica gel (a porous,
glass-like solid) attracts and adsorbs water vapour, until it’s saturated. Then it needs to be
regenerated; heating the silica gel releases the water vapour at a pressure that allows it to condense at
ambient temperatures. Then the cycle of adsorption and desorption can be repeated.
This cycle is not unlike absorption cycles (with e.g. LiBr-solution), however there are
2 important differences: 1. the silica gel can be regenerated efficiently at lower driving temperatures
and 2. the silica gel is a solid that cannot be pumped from generator to absorber. The silica gel is
applied on heat exchangers which are supplied intermittently with hot and cooling water. The
adsorption cycle is a batch process and for quasi-continuous cooling at least 2 silica gel beds
(reactors) are needed, operating in counter-phase. The lowest possible chilled water temperature of
this adsorption cycle is about 4°C, making it perfectly suited for air-conditioning and chilled water
systems in the built environment and in industry.

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Figure 6: Schematic of adsorption chiller lay-out

7.2.2. Adsorption chiller performance

The adsorption chiller has been tested in an ECN laboratory, with the facilities to control
flows and temperatures for hot, cooling and chilled water. Hot, cooling and chilled water temperatures
strongly influence the chillers’ performance. As nominal operating conditions the following inlet
temperatures are set: 80°C, 30° and 15°C respectively.
Under these conditions the influence of cycle time on thermal performance has been
determined. The cycle time is the duration of a complete cycle of heating up and cooling down of one reactor.
Figure 7 shows the cooling power (left axis) and Coefficient of Performance (right axis, ratio of cooling
power and driving heat).

The graph shows that cycle times under 6 minutes are not useful, because both cooling power
and COP show a decrease (because this short cycle time does not allow all silica gel to go through the
complete temperature cycle). At increasing cycle times (>10 minutes) a decrease in cooling power is
compensated by an increase in efficiency (because less changes between heating and cooling of a reactor
means less thermal losses).

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Figure 7: Influence of cycle time on thermal performance of the adsorption chiller

Figure 8 shows the influence of the cooling water and chilled water inlet temperature on the
chillers’ performance. Chiller performance clearly benefits from “high temperature cooling” and relatively
low cooling water temperatures. When designing a complete (solar) cooling system these influences have to
be taken into consideration.

Figure 8: Influence of cooling water (left) and chilled water (right) inlet temperature

The laboratory tests show that the ambitious design specifications for this proto-type
have been achieved. Nearly 2.5kW cooling power can be produced with a very compact chiller
(power density of about 7kW/m3) at a very respectable COP.

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7.2.3. Adsorption Cycle Description

Basic Adsorption Cycle

A basic adsorption cycle consists of four steps (Figure 9): heating and pressurization
desorption and condensation, cooling and depressurization, and adsorption and evaporation. In the
first step, the adsorber is heated by a heat source at a temperature of TH. The pressure of the
adsorber increases from the evaporating pressure up to the condensing pressure while the adsorber
temperature increases. This step is equivalent to the “compression” in the vapor-compression cycle.
In the second step, the adsorber continues receiving heat and its temperature keeps increasing, which
results in the desorption (or generation) of refrigerant vapor from adsorbent in the adsorber. This
desorbed vapor is liquefied in the condenser and the condensing heat is released to the first heat sink
at a temperature of TC. This step is equivalent to “condensation” in the vapor-compression cycle.

At the beginning of the third step, the adsorber is disconnected from the condenser.
Then, it is cooled by heat transfer fluid at the second heat sink temperature of TM. The pressure of
the adsorber decreases from the condensing pressure down to the evaporating pressure due to the
decrease in the adsorber temperature. This step is equivalent to the “expansion” in the vapor-
compression cycle. In the last step, the adsorber keeps releasing heat while being connected to the
evaporator. The adsorber temperature continues decreasing, which results in the adsorption of
refrigerant vapor from the evaporator by adsorbent, producing the desired refrigeration effect. This
step is equivalent to the “evaporation” in the vapor-compression cycle. The basic adsorption
refrigeration cycle is an intermittent system and the cooling output is not continuous. A minimum of
two adsorbers are required to obtain a continuous cooling effect (when the first adsorber is in the
adsorption phase, the second adsorber is in desorption phase). These adsorbers will sequentially
execute the adsorption-desorption process.

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Figure 9: Basic adsorption refrigeration system. A. Heating and pressurization. B. Desorption and
condensation. C. Cooling and depressurization. D. Adsorption and evaporation.

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Advanced Adsorption Cycle

Since the efficiency of the basic adsorption refrigeration cycle is low, and the cooling
output is not continuous, many advanced adsorption refrigeration cycles (such as the heat recovery
cycle, mass recovery cycle, thermal wave cycle, forced convective thermal wave cycle, etc.) have
been developed to improve efficiency and practicability.
The heat recovery cycle is an advanced adsorption cycle used in a system with two or
more adsorbers. Figure 10 shows the heat recovery system on the P-T diagram. After the adsorption
phase and desorption phase are finished in the adsorbers, the heat from the hot adsorber is
transferred to the cold adsorber by circulating heat transfer fluid between them in a closed loop. The
experimental results show that the COP of the system will increase by up to 25% with the heat
recovery cycle.

Figure 10: Pressure-temperature diagram of heat recovery cycle.

The mass recovery cycle uses refrigerant mass recovery between two adsorbers to
effectively increase cooling output and COP of the system. Figure 11 presents a diagram of the mass
recovery cycle of an adsorption system. In the end of the desorption−adsorption phase, the high-
pressure adsorber is connected to the low-pressure adsorber in a closed loop. The refrigerant in the

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high-pressure adsorber will be re-adsorbed by the adsorbent in the low-pressure adsorber due to the
pressure difference between the two adsorbers. In a mass recovery process, the adsorption quantity
of adsorbent is increased, which causes the cooling capacity and COP to increase. The experimental
results showed the mass recovery cycle may help obtain a COP increase of more than 10%.

Figure 11: Diagram of mass recovery cycle

The concept of thermal wave cycle, proposed by Shelton, is shown in Figure 12.The heat
transfer fluid circulates through four components: (1) Adsorber 1 in adsorption phase, (2) the heat source; (3)
Adsorber 2 in desorption phase, and (4) heat sink. The adsorption heat released from Adsorber 1 is recovered
by the heat transfer fluid and transferred to Adsorber 2, and only limited thermal energy is required from the
heat source since about 65% of the total energy received by each adsorber can be internally recovered. 26
Experimental results showed the COP of a two-bed adsorption air conditioner (zeolite−water) with thermal
wave cycle was approximately 1.0 in cooling season. Critoph invented and theoretically investigated the
convection thermal wave cycle, which uses refrigerant as a heat transfer medium for internal heat recovery.
The simulation results predicted a COP of 0.95 for this system when the evaporating temperature and
condensing temperature are 0°C and 42°C (32°F and 107.6°F), respectively.

Figure 12: Thermal wave adsorption cycle

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7.3. DESICCANT COOLING

Desiccant cooling systems are basically open cycle systems, using water as
refrigerant in direct contact with air. The thermally driven cooling cycle is a combination of
evaporative cooling with air dehumidification by a desiccant, i.e. a hygroscopic material. For this
purpose, liquid or solid materials can be employed. The term ‘open’ is used to indicate that the
refrigerant is discarded from the system after providing the cooling effect and new refrigerant is
supplied in its place in an open-ended loop. Therefore only water is possible as refrigerant since a
direct contact to the atmosphere exists. The common technology applied today uses rotating
desiccant wheels, equipped either with silica gel or lithium-chloride as sorption material.
7.3.1. Solid desiccant cooling with rotating wheels
The main components of a solar assisted desiccant cooling system are shown in the
figure 13 below. The basic process in providing conditioned air may be described as follows.

Figure 13: Schematic drawing of desiccant cooling system

A: Cooling case
Warm and humid ambient air enters the slowly rotating desiccant wheel and is
dehumidified by adsorption of water (1-2). Since the air is heated up by the adsorption heat, a heat
recovery wheel is passed (2-3), resulting in a significant pre-cooling of the supply air stream.
Subsequently, the air is humidified and further cooled by a controlled humidifier (3-4), according to
the desired temperature and humidity of the supply air stream. The exhaust air stream of the rooms is
humidified (6-7) close to the saturation point to exploit the full cooling potential in order to allow an
effective heat recovery (7-8).Finally, the sorption wheel has to be regenerated (9-10) by applying

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heat in a comparatively low temperature range from 50°C-75°C, to allow a continuous operation of
the dehumidification process.
B: Heating case
In periods with low heating demand, heat recovery from the exhaust air stream and
enthalpy exchange by using a fast rotating mode of the desiccant wheel may be sufficient. In case of
increasing heating demand, heat from the solar thermal collectors and, if necessary, from a backup
heat source (4-5) is applied.
Flat-plate solar thermal collectors can be normally applied as heating system in solar
assisted desiccant cooling systems. The solar system may consist of collectors using water as fluid
and a hot water Storage, to increase the utilization of the solar system. This configuration requires an
additional water/air heat exchanger, to connect the solar system to the air system. An alternative
solution, leading to lower investment cost, is the direct supply of regeneration heat by means of solar
air collectors.
Special design of the desiccant cycle is needed in case of extreme outdoor conditions
such as e.g. coastal areas of the Mediterranean region. Here, due to the high humidity of ambient air,
a standard configuration of the desiccant cooling cycle is not able to reduce the humidity down to a
level that is low enough to employ direct evaporative cooling. More complex designs of the
desiccant air handling unit employing for instance another enthalpy wheel or additional air coolers
supplied by chilled water can overcome this problem.

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7.3.2. Liquid desiccant cooling

 Liquid desiccant cooling is a new technology. Instead of using air passed over solid
desiccants, as desiccant dehumidifiers do, a liquid system uses a water-lithium chloride or
calcium chloride solution as a sorption material.
 These hygroscopic salts lower the vapor pressure of water in solution sufficiently to absorb
humidity from the air. In contrast to the case of the solid sorbents, the water bonding
mechanism is not adsorption, but absorption.
 Advantage of liquid desiccant cooling over solid desiccant cooling include higher
dehumidification rates at similar temperatures and the potential of energy storage using a
concentrated liquid solution.

The sorption systems used for the drying of air consist basically of

1. Absorber (conditioner).
2. Regenerator.

Solar thermal heat is used in the generator to drive the process.

Figure 14: Liquid desiccant cooling system

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Working

1. A concentrated and cooled liquid desiccant flows into an absorber and down through a bed of
tightly packed granules. At the same time air is sent up through that bed of granular particles where
it meets the liquid, transferring both heat and moisture.

2. The cooled air is sent into the home for cooling loads.

3. The new-diluted liquid desiccant is exposed to a heat source at relatively low temperature (60-
70°C) from solar thermal collectors – in the regenerator, where the water is again separated.

4. The liquid desiccant is then fed back into the absorber to repeat the process.

Commercial liquid desiccant system

The unique characteristics of liquid desiccant systems are effective in commercial
applications, especially in larger buildings, where the advantages of liquid desiccant provide cost
effective competition to both solid desiccants and to conventional cooling systems. One of the
commercial system is shown below.

Figure 15: Liquid desiccant cooling system, installed at the new “Solar Building Innovation Center
(SOBIC)”

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8. SOLAR COLLECTORS

The market available solar thermal collectors are shown in the following table. High
temperature systems such as tracked parabolic troughs are not considered here.
In solar assisted air conditioning systems, the difference in the operation of the solar
collectors compared to solar thermal collector systems for hot water production is the high
temperature level, at which the useful heat has to be provided. For thermally driven chillers, the
driving temperature is mainly above 80°C, lowest values are 60°C. For desiccant cooling systems,
the driving temperature is above 55°C up to 90°C. Due to the high volume flow rates in the heat
supply cycle, an ideal stratification in the hot water storage is difficult and the return temperature to
the solar collector is relatively high as well. This causes some restrictions in the selection of the
collector type.
Consequently, standard flat-plate collectors and solar air collectors may be
implemented with most benefit in solar assisted desiccant systems. In configurations using an
adsorption chiller or a single-effect absorption chiller, the use of selectively coated flat plate
collectors is limited to areas with high irradiation availability. For other areas and for chillers
requiring higher driving temperatures, high efficient collectors are to be implemented, e.g. evacuated
tube collectors. From the fixed-mounted collector systems, highest temperatures may be achieved
with evacuated tube collectors using optical concentration. This is an interesting option for solar
assisted air conditioning system using high efficient absorption chillers (2- effect).

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Table 1: Solar thermal collectors

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9. INVESTMENT AND RUNNING COST

Most of today realized projects are of research or demonstration nature and still
much additional design and planning effort are necessary. The technical effort in the implementation
of a solar assisted air conditioning system is higher as compared to the implementation of a
conventional system. This results from the complete additional solar thermal installation on the one
hand, and from the increased requirements on the re-cooling installations, since the thermally driven
chillers usually need higher amounts of heat to be re-cooled. Furthermore, some of the component
costs are still high, since the production of particular components, e.g. adsorption chillers, is
currently far below the level of large scale industrial production.
As a summary, the investment costs of the systems are considerably above the
investment costs of conventional system solutions. This is less valid for desiccant cooling systems,
as the dominating cost for the ventilation system are required in both the solar assisted system and
the conventional system and the additional cost of the collector system is part wise compensated
through the absence of a chiller, as it is required in the conventional system configuration. On the
other hand, the running costs of solar assisted air conditioning systems are expected to be
considerably below the running costs of a conventional system..
Although a precise statement on the economic situation of a solar assisted air
conditioning system depends on the specific system, in general the annual cost, i.e., the complete
cost including investment (capital cost), operation and maintenance costs etc., of a solar assisted air
conditioning system are currently above the annual cost of a conventional system. For desiccant
cooling systems, it is expected that with a moderate decrease in component costs (nearly within the
range of negotiations with distributors), these types of solar assisted air conditioning systems may be
already cost competitive in some applications, with conventional solutions.
For systems using thermally driven chillers, more actions are necessary to improve
the cost performance. Although remarkable future cost reductions of the adsorption chillers and of
evacuated tube collectors are expected, additional efforts in an increase of the technical performance
(COP) of the chillers are required. A raised experience of manufacturers, planners and installers of
these types of systems may additionally result in a decrease of cost for planning, installation and
control. With these measures, the systems may achieve step by step a cost range close to
conventional systems, but always saving considerable amounts of primary energy and thus
contributing to the goals in reducing environmentally hazardous emissions.

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10. ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR COOLING

 The availability of high solar radiation during the time when cooling is needed.
 The applicability of thermal energy as driving energy.
 Low operating costs.
 Low electrical power rating.
 Durability and environmental compatibility.
 Eco-friendly technology.
 Solar energy is freely available.
 An off-grid solar air condition requires less frequent maintenance than conventional power
hungry grid tied air conditions.
 In day time solar power is stored in battery, so it can be used in night times.
 Solar air conditioners can work anywhere, even in remote place where the power-grid has not
found a home as yet.
 A family or business that opts for solar powered ACs can reduce long term electricity costs that
make the initial expense worthwhile.
 In desiccant cooling, improves the efficiency by operating at higher evaporator temperatures and
higher COP.

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11. POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS

 In hotels
 Private building sector
 Wine cellars
 Factories
 Office buildings
 Solar technology is used in food preservation
 Space heating and cooling
 Applicable in vaccines and medicine storage
 Freezing and ice making
 In hospital, solar power technology can be adopted

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12. FUTURE GOALS

A solar powered absorption air-conditioning system is a complex, dynamic system
and it is difficult to predict with any certainty the annual energy saving, and therefore, the return on
investment. This uncertainty in system evaluation is a further obstacle to the wider application of
solar cooling.
In order to improve the system design of a solar powered absorption air-conditioning
system, a parametric study must be carried out to investigate the influence of key parameters on the
overall system performance. If experiments were used to perform the parametric study, effects of
one key parameter on the overall system performance would normally require several cooling
seasons and hence, years to establish a conclusion. Also, it is extremely difficult to keep the
performance of the system components to be constant over entire experimental period as the
components deteriorate with time.
Therefore, in order to avoid extremely difficult and expensive experimentation,
researchers can develop and validate a robust dynamic model of the solar powered absorption air-
conditioning system and simulation can be done to study the system. This will help to perform the
parametric study on the model rather than the physical system itself.

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13. CONCLUSION
Solar absorption air-conditioning has the advantage of both the supply of sunshine
and the need for refrigeration to reach maximum levels in the same season. Of the two main
technologies of solar cooling systems namely, solar thermal technology and solar cooling
technology, the emphasis in this paper is placed on solar cooling technology.
Some of the findings of this paper are as follows:
 Among the major working pairs available, LiBr-H2O is considered to be better suited for solar
absorption air-conditioning applications.
 Generator inlet temperature of the chiller is the most important parameter in the design and
fabrication of a solar powered air-conditioning system.
 A Single effect system with refrigerant storage has the advantage of accumulating refrigerant
during the hours of high solar insolation but the double effect convertible system has a higher
overall COP.
 A Two-stage system has the advantage of lowering the generator temperature, which provides
the use of conventional flat plate collectors, thereby bringing down the cost of the system.
Solar absorption air-conditioning system can provide 100% of building air-
conditioning load. The excess cooling available in the day time can be stored to utilize in the
evening, night and early next morning. The payback of solar air-conditioning system depends mainly
on solar radiations available, electricity rates and peak charges. The pay back of these systems shall
be significantly shorter in future because of expected high fuel and electricity charges. Also solar
cooling shall become a cheaper solution with more research and mass production of solar cooling
equipment.
The refrigerant phase out in future shall also make solar absorption air-conditioning
system an attractive proposition. By using a thermal energy storage tank with solar cooling, an
integrated solution for 24 hrs cooling can be provided.
Cooling (heating) systems based on adsorption-desorption cycles are environmentally
friendly and have must advantages which allow them to compete with absorption and compression
devices. A great advantage is a possibility of using waste heat or solar energy as an energy source.
Studies on adsorption cooling are conducted in many countries of the world However,
these studies have not led yet to a state that allows researchers to model design and apply these
systems commercially. Tests are conducted for specific cases and these are no generalizations, which

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are necessary for predicting hoe the process will run under different conditions. Nowadays, the
coefficients of performance are unacceptably low, adsorption-desorption cycles are too long and
volume and mass of adsorption devices are too large for the commercial use. Further research,
concerning for example heat and mass transfer enhancement, is necessary. A numerical simulation
can play an important role in this field. Moreover, adsorption cooling seems to be prospective fields
for research as these are few studies on their work under the central European climatic zone
conditions.
In solar desiccant cooling, the performance of the system is greatly influenced by the
efficiency of the supply air humidifier, the return air humidifier and the rotating heat exchanger. The
effect of storage volume, solar collector slope and control strategy during inoccupation period was
also investigated. Using a set point temperature of 26°C, storage tank volume and collector slope
were chosen in order to minimize room cooling requirement factor. Then a detailed study shows the
impact of air flow rate during inoccupation period. It was shown that, during inoccupation period,
even with low air changes per hour (about 2.8); there is an improvement in room indoor conditions
with a slight increase of electrical energy consumption (the next step will be also investigating effect
of building inertia and studying room comfort conditions).

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14. REFERENCE

14.1. Book Reference

[1] Alizadeh S, Bahar F & Geoola F. 1979. Design and optimization of an absorption refrigeration
system operated by solar energy, Solar Energy, Vol. (22), pp 49-54.
[2] Friefeld M., & Coleman G.C. 1986. Testing the US Solar Pilot Plant Receiver, ASME Journal of
Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. (108), pp. 146-149.
[3] Wilbur PJ, Mancini TR. A comparison of solar absorption air-conditioning systems. Solar
Energy 1976; 18:569±76.
[4] Hu, E.J. 1998. “A study of thermal decomposition of methanol in solar powered adsorption
refrigeration systems.” Solar Energy 62(5):325 – 329.
[5] Dittmar J. (1997). Solar desiccant cooling: a pre –study of possibilities and limitations in
Northern Europe, Master thesis E136, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden

14.2. Site Reference

[1] http://www.klingenburg.de/ENGLISH/F_engl.htm.
[2] http://www.raee.org/climasol
[3] www.limsi.fr/Individu/mpons/pricyc.htm.

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