Solar Cooling

Presented by
Susan Shrestha
062BME645
Contents
Solar Cooling
Solar absorption
Combined solar heating and
cooling
Solar mechanical cooling
Solar related air-conditioning
What is Solar Cooling?
Use of solar energy directly to drive
cooling cycle for two propose, to provide
refrigeration for food preservation and
comfort cooling.
Why Solar Cooling?
Some Facts
% of annual electrical consumption % of annual electrical consumption
(Commercial buildings in India) (Residential buildings in India)

8% 10%
4%
Lighting (60%) 28% Lighting (28% )
HAVC (32%) Airconditioning (7% )
Others (8%) 13% Fans (34% )
32% EV Coolers (4% )
Refrigeration (13% )
4%
60% 7% TV (4% )
Others (10% )

34%

Cooling consumes 30-60 % of Energy Bill

Oil prices exceeding 100$/Barrel
Production of 1 kWh (oil) results in 0.4-0.7 Ton CO2
Burning 1 kg Natural Gas produces 2.6 kg CO2
Why Solar Cooling?
Increasing in cost of energy
Need of alternative energy source (clean energy) to
meet the need of cooling.
Contribution to primary energy savings regarding the
global warming by CO2 emissions (Kyoto-protocol)
Contribution to reduce the increasing peak power
demand due to electrical powered cooling units
Crucial for improving life standards in developing
countries
Globalcooling demand exceeds heating
demand
Solar Cooling Paths
D e s s ic a n t c y c le

E je c to r c y c le
2 0 °C
3 0 0 °C

R a n k in e c y c le A ir -c o n d itio n in g
C o n c e n tr a tin g
heat
1 5 0 °C 1 5 °C
S o la r T h e rm a l ETC
A b s o r p tio n
C o lle c to r s 1 0 0 °C
- F la t P la t e F la t P la te
-E v a c u a te d T u b e
7 0 °C
- C o n c e n t r a t in g
A d s o r p tio n 8 °C

Food,
C h e m ic a l r e a c tio n V a c c in e S to r a g e

0 °C
T h e r m o -e le c tr ic c y c le
F r e e z in g

electricity
Photovoltaics
V a p o u r c o m p r e s s io n

S tir lin g c y c le
How Cooling System Works?

Generator

absorber
Coefficient of performance
The performance of cooling equipment/system is
usually rated in terms of COP, defined as the
cooling output, or refrigeration effect divided by
the energy input.
In general,
Absorption Cooling System
An absorption cycle is a heat-activated thermal
cycle. It ex-changes only thermal energy with its
surroundings—no appreciable mechanical energy is
exchanged.
no appreciable conversion of heat to work or work to
heat occurs in the cycle
The two great advantages of this type of cycle in
comparison to other cycles with similar product are
• No large rotating mechanical equipment is required
• Any source of heat can be used, including low-
temperature sources (e.g., waste heat)
Principle
All absorption cycles include at least three thermal energy exchanges
with their surroundings.
Flow two cycle (a) Forward absorption cycle(FAC) (b) reverse
absorption cycle (RAC)
In FAC, the highest temperature heat is always supplied to the
generator
Qhot≡Qgen
and the coldest heat is supplied to the evaporator
Qcold≡Qevap
In RAC, highest temperature heat is rejected from the absorber, and
the lowest temperature heat is rejected from the condenser. So, for
ideal system, using energy balance
Qevap ≈Qcond
And, Qgen ≈Qabs
Absorbent Refrigeran
t
LiBr H2O
H2O NH3
Working
Solution Pump – A dilute refrigerant is collected in the bottom of the absorber shell. Pump moves
the solution through heat exchanger for preheating (regeneration).
Generator – After exiting the heat exchanger, the dilute solution moves into the upper shell. The
solution surrounds a bundle of tubes which carries either steam or hot water. The steam or hot water
transfers heat into the pool of dilute refrigerant solution. The solution boils, sending refrigerant
vapor upward into the condenser and leaving behind concentrated lithium bromide. The
concentrated refrigerant solution moves down to the heat exchanger, where it is cooled by the weak
solution being pumped up to the generator.
Condenser – The refrigerant vapor migrates through mist eliminators to the condenser tube bundle.
The refrigerant vapor condenses on the tubes. The heat is removed by the cooling water which
moves through the inside of the tubes. As the refrigerant condenses, it collects in a trough at the
bottom of the condenser.
Evaporator – The refrigerant liquid moves from the condenser in the upper shell down to the
evaporator in the lower shell and is sprayed over the evaporator tube bundle. Due to the extreme
vacuum of the lower shell [6 mm Hg (0.8 kPa) absolute pressure], the refrigerant liquid boils at
approximately 39°F (3.9°C), creating the refrigerant effect. (This vacuum is created by hygroscopic
action - the strong affinity refrigerant has for water - in the Absorber directly below.)
Absorber – As the refrigerant vapor migrates to the absorber from the evaporator, the strong
refrigerant solution from the generator is sprayed over the top of the absorber tube bundle. The
strong refrigerant solution actually pulls the refrigerant vapor into solution, creating the extreme
vacuum in the evaporator. The absorption of the refrigerant vapor into the refrigerant solution also
generates heat which is removed by the cooling water. The now dilute refrigerant solution collects
in the bottom of the lower shell, where it flows down to the solution pump. The chilling cycle is
now completed and the process begins once again.
Single-Effect Absorption Cycle of LiBr-
H2O

(44oC)
48 C
o

(100oC)

(6.5oC)

(12oC)

(53oC)

(38oC)
Assumptions for Single-Effect
Water-Lithium Bromide Model
Generator and condenser as well as evaporator and absorber are
under same pressure
Refrigerant vapor leaving the evaporator is saturated pure water
Liquid refrigerant leaving the condenser is saturated
Strong solution leaving the generator is boiling
Refrigerant vapor leaving the generator has the equilibrium
temperature of the weak solution at generator pressure
Weak solution leaving the absorber is saturated
No liquid carryover from evaporator
Flow restrictors are adiabatic
Pump is isentropic
No jacket heat losses
The LMTD (log mean temperature difference) expression
adequately
estimates the latent changes
Ideal Properties of H2O–LiBr
The generation process is one of increasing the
concentration from 55 to 60% while the equilibrium
temperature of the solution rises from 72 to 82 oC at the
condenser. In the absorber, the solution concentration
drops from 60-55% as the solution temperature drops
from 48 to 38oC, all at the evaporator pressure. In a real
cycle, some sensible heat will have to be transferred in
the generator and absorber.
Many LiBr-H2O machines have nearly constant COP as
the generator temperatures vary over the operating
range, as long as the temperatures are above minimum.
The thermal COP is usually in the range of 0.6-0.8.
The generator temperatures are in the range 70-90 oC as
water used as coolant.
So, temperature of the fluid supplied to the generator
must be higher than this.
Single-Effect Absorption Cycle of H2O-NH3

The working principle of Ammonia-water

cooler is similar to that of the LiBr-water.
Rectifier is used between generator and
condenser to reduce the amount of water
vapor going to the condenser.
The pressures and pressure differences are
much higher and mechanical pumps are
needed.
The condenser and absorber can be air
cooled (generator temp. 125-170oC) or water
cooled (generator temp. 95-120oC)
Diagram
Ideal Properties of NH3–H2O
Difference
NH3 -H2O Absorption System
Refrigerant - Ammonia Absorbent
- Water
High operating pressures
It is suitable for refrigeration and
air-conditioning
High generation temperature
Condenser is both water cooled
as well as air cooled
Rectifier is required
COP is low (0.5 to 0.6)
No crystallization problem
Health hazard as it is toxic
Inflammable
Mechanical pump is required
LiBr -H2O Absorption System
Refrigerant - Water Absorbent -
Lithium Bromide
Low operating pressures
It is suitable for air-conditioning or
heat pump
It is relatively lower
Only water cooling is necessary
Rectifier is not required
COP is high (0.7 to 0.8)
Crystallization is a major problem
It is not toxic
Not flammable
No need of mechanical pump can
use (vapour lift(bubble) pump)
Multi-effect absorption cycle
NEED
To improve the COP
Drawback
Need high generating temperature
Double-effect absorption cycle
The double-effect chiller use two condensers and two generators to
allow for more refrigerant boil-off from the absorbent solution.
Heat is transferred between the high-pressure condenser and
intermediate-pressure generator.
The heat of condensation of the refrigerant (generated in the high-
temperature generator) generates additional refrigerant in the lower
temperature generator.
Thus, the prime energy provided to the high-temperature generator
is cascaded (used) twice in the cycle, making it a double-effect
cycle.
With the generation of additional refrigerant from a given heat
input, the cycle COP increases.
Commercial water-lithium bromide chillers normally use this cycle
COP ranges from 1-1.5
Temperature of high pressure generator should be 130-160 oC for
H2O-LiBr
Diagram
COP vs Heat Supply Temp.
Collectors
LiCl-H2O Open Cycle Cooling
Solar absorption AC
Combined Solar Heating and Cooling
CSHC
Many application of solar air conditioning
will be done in conjunction with solar
heating, with the same collector, storage
and auxiliary energy system serving both
functions and supplying hot water.
Important Consideration in CSHC Design
Summer and Winter loads:
Collector Capacity, its size and design is governed by the
one of the above dominating load
Climate Condition:
Terai, Hilly, Mountainous region
Commercial buildings are likely to have design fixed by
cooling loads.
Building Design:
Fenestration(window design), shading by overhangs, wing
walls, building orientation etc
COP
Less COP require a larger collector area.
Continue..
Location of heat storage tank
If heat storage tank is inside structure, the
heat loss from storage become
uncontrolled gains during the heating
season and additional loads during
cooling season
Heating loads are higher in morning and
cooling loads are higher in the afternoon
Demerits
High Initial cost of Setup
Design problem for optimum collector area, under
design may lead to excessive use of auxiliary energy
whereas overdesign may lead to low use factor on
capital intensive solar energy system
Absorption air conditioners are more expensive than
mechanical air conditioners
In climates where annual cooling loads are low the
absorbers coolers have higher cooling costs due to low
use factors on the coolers
Its dependency upon the availability of solar energy
throughout the year
Solar Mechanical Cooling
Works on the principle of Rankin cycle
To develop mechanical work to run vapour
compression refrigeration cycle
Used in large scale for combine AC, electric
generation, water heating
Drawbacks
Occupies large space
Not economical on the scale of AC operations
Difficult to envision a household-scale system as
conventional system is less expense
Diagram
Fig (a) The efficiency of the solar collector
decreases as the operating temperature increases
while the efficiency of the heat engine increases
as the operating temperatures increases
Fig(b) shows the overall system efficiency
which increases and then decreases after certain
optimum temperature
Solar related air-conditioning
 The components installed for the
purpose of heating a building can also be
used to cool the buildings without the
use of direct solar energy
i. Night cold storage system
ii. Sky radiation systems
iii. Heat pump systems
Night cold storage system
Night chilling of pebble beds can be done to
store “cold” for use for the following day which
can provide some cooling capacity
Pebble bed storage of solar air heating systems
can be cooled by passing outside air through an
evaporative cooled air at night. where the
ambient temperature were at most 15 to 20 C
When cooling the building the air flow from the
rooms, up through the pebble bed, and returned
to the rooms.
Sky radiation systems
Radiation to the night sky has been used to dissipate energy
in several experimental systems
The nearly horizontal radiators are also used as collectors for
solar heating
These system can use nocturnal(night-time) radiation to chill
water for subsequent cooling.
There are two limitations

i. The characteristics which make good collectors are not those

that make good radiator. Neither covers nor selective coating
can be used as they reduces nocturnal radiation level
ii. Second limitation is climatic one. It could only be used
where night sky temperatures are low i.e. atmospheric
moisture and dust content are low and night time wind
speeds are low.
Heat pumps
Heat pumps used in the solar heating
systems can also be used in the air
conditioning systems thus making it dual
purpose pump. This makes the use of heat
pump fore economic and favorable.
Reference
Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes
ASHRAE handbook
Internet
THANK YOU