Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption cooling system in three cities with a tropical climate

2019

English

This study assessed through numerical simulations, the technical feasibility of a solar-powered absorption cooling systemfor a small-scale application inanofficebuilding in threedifferent citieswitha tropical climate in Ecuador. The model and simulations were performed using the dynamic transient software TRNSYS and were compared and validated using experimental data obtained from a real-life system with main components: 12 m2 vacuum tube solar thermal collector array, a 4.5 kWLiBr/H2O single-effect absorption chiller, a 6 kWfan coil and a 100 l sensible cold store. The results of the simulation showed a good agreement with the experimental data with a deviation of 8.5%. The validated model was used to undertake a parametric study to determine capacities of systems that will be applicable to three Ecuadorian cities: Guayaquil,Manta and San Cristobal. The system capacity predicted by themodel for the Ecuadorian cities has the following components: 24m2 evacuated tube collector field, a 20 kW heat exchanger, a 15 kWsingle-stage LiBr/H2O absorption chiller, a 35 kW cooling tower and a cold storage tank of 2 m3. The results showed that the proposed system could meet most of the required cooling load (90% for Guayaquil and San Cristobal, and 71% forManta, considering a set point of 24◦C) of a typical single-story office building with.

Boero, A.; Agyenim, F.