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Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000
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Energy
EnergyProcedia
Procedia149 (2018) 000–000
00 (2017) 307–316
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

16th
16th International
International Symposium
Symposium on
on District
District Heating
Heating and
and Cooling,
Cooling, DHC2018,
DHC2018,
9–12 September 2018, Hamburg, Germany
9–12 September 2018, Hamburg, Germany

Prospects
Prospects for absorption
for International
The 15th absorption chillers
chillersonin
Symposium Finnish
inDistrict
Finnish energy
energy
Heating systems
systems
and Cooling
Heidi
Heidi Saastamoinen*,
Assessing the feasibility of using Satu
Saastamoinen*, the Paiho
Satu heat demand-outdoor
Paiho
temperature function for aCentre
VTT Techinical Research long-term district
of Finland Ltd, P.O. heatVTT
Box 1000, FI-02044 demand forecast
VTT Techinical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT

Abstract
Abstract I. Andrića,b,c*, A. Pinaa, P. Ferrãoa, J. Fournierb., B. Lacarrièrec, O. Le Correc
Increasing
a trendforinInnovation,
IN+ Center space cooling together
Technology with Research
and Policy demand of CO2 Superior
emission reduction in energy
Pais 1,production directsPortugal
towards
Increasing trend in space cooling together with demand -of Instituto
CO2 emissionTécnico, Av. Rovisco
reduction in energy 1049-001 Lisbon,
production directs towards
environmentally friendlier cooling b
Veolia options.
Recherche Absorption
& Innovation,chillers
291 utilizeDreyfous
Avenue waste heat in cold
Daniel, 78520production
Limay, and could, therefore, fit to this
France
environmentally friendlier cooling options. Absorption chillers utilize waste heat in cold production and could, therefore, fit to this
need. FinlandcDépartement
has a well established district heating
Systèmes Énergétiques system and -growing
et Environnement district4cooling
IMT Atlantique, rue Alfred markets.
Kastler,The trend
44300 is towards
Nantes, France renewable
need. Finland has a well established district heating system and growing district cooling markets. The trend is towards renewable
options in both heat and electricity production. In this study, after introducing basics of absorption chillers, cooling trends in Finland
options in both heat and electricity production. In this study, after introducing basics of absorption chillers, cooling trends in Finland
are discussed and prospects of absorption chillers in Finnish district and building energy systems are defined. A number of potential
are discussed and prospects of absorption chillers in Finnish district and building energy systems are defined. A number of potential
applications are identified and discussed. After an extensive review of literature, the authors conclude that solar driven absorption
applications
Abstract are identified and discussed. After an extensive review of literature, the authors conclude that solar driven absorption
chiller applications have not been widely examined in Finnish conditions. Particularly absorption systems in trigeneration systems
chiller applications have not been widely examined in Finnish conditions. Particularly absorption systems in trigeneration systems
could be feasible also in Finland. Still, further technical and economic analyses for all potential applications are needed.
could be feasible
District heating also in Finland.
networks Still, further
are commonly technicalinand
addressed theeconomic
literatureanalyses
as one offor the
all potential applications
most effective are needed.
solutions for decreasing the
©greenhouse
© gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
©is2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
sales.
This 2018
Due
an openThe Authors.
to access
the changed Published
article climate
under the by Elsevier
conditions
CC and
BY-NC-ND Ltd.
building
license renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This
This is an
isand
antheopen
open access article
accessunder
article under
under the CC
theof
CC BY-NC-ND license licenseof((https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ))
prolonging
Selection investment
peer-review return period.
responsibility theBY-NC-ND
scientific committee https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
the 16th International Symposium on District Heating
Selection
Selection
The main scope
and peer-review
andofpeer-review under
this paper is under
to assess
responsibility
responsibility of the
the feasibilityofofthe
scientific
scientific
using
committee
the heatcommittee
of the 16th
of the 16th
demand – outdoor
International
International
temperature
Symposium
functionSymposium
on
on
for heat demand
and Cooling, DHC2018.
District
District Heating
forecast.Heating and
The district Cooling, DHC2018.
of Alvalade,
and Cooling, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
DHC2018.
Keywords: absorption chillers, energy systems, buildings, Finland
buildingsabsorption
Keywords: that varychillers,
in both construction
energy period and
systems, buildings, typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
Finland
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
1. Introduction
1.The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
Introduction
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
Globally,
scenarios,
Globally, thespace cooling
error value
space cooling is
is the
increased
the upfastest-growing end
end use
to 59.5% (depending
fastest-growing useonininthebuildings,
weather and
buildings, even
even if
if itit is
renovation is aascenarios
significantly small
small portion
combination
significantly of
considered).
portion of
energy
The value demand in
of slope buildings
coefficienttoday (roughly
increased 5%)
on average [1]. Even
within theifrange
energyof needs
3.8% up for
energy demand in buildings today (roughly 5%) [1]. Even if energy needs for cooling can be reduced with building tocooling
8% percan be
decade, reduced with
that corresponds building
to the
envelope
envelope solutions
solutions by
decrease in the number
by minimizing
minimizing heat
of heating hours ofgains
heat gains in
22-139hsummer
in summer using using thermal
during the heating
thermal mass,
mass, efficient
season (depending
efficient glazing,
glazing, insulation,
insulation, shading,
on the combination of weather and
shading,
renovationsurfaces
reflective scenariosand considered).
natural On the other
ventilation [2], hand,
there function
still intercept
remains increased
needs for the for 7.8-12.7%
active cooling persolutions
decade (depending
as well. on the
reflective surfaces and natural ventilation [2], there still remains needs for the active
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, andcooling solutions as well.
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under
* Corresponding responsibility
author. of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
Tel.: +358-40-568-9860
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +358-40-568-9860
Cooling.
E-mail address: heidi.saastamoinen@vtt.fi
E-mail address: heidi.saastamoinen@vtt.fi

Keywords:©Heat
1876-6102 2018demand; Forecast;
The Authors. Climate
Published bychange
Elsevier Ltd.
1876-6102 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 16th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling,
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 16th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling,
DHC2018.
DHC2018.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
1876-6102 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 16th International Symposium on District Heating
and Cooling, DHC2018.
10.1016/j.egypro.2018.08.194
308 Heidi Saastamoinen et al. / Energy Procedia 149 (2018) 307–316
2 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

Statistics have not been compiled on energy consumption for household air conditioning nor on the applications in
use although the sector is growing rapidly. IEA suggests that air conditioning accounts for around 9% of household
electricity consumption in IEA countries [3]. According to Santamouris [4], globally the Climate Change, increase of
population and potential economic growth increases the cooling energy demand. At country level, higher family
income, decrease in electricity and equipment price, warmer climatic zone and high local standards for thermal quality
of buildings and high requirements for minimum efficiency of air conditioners increase the penetration of air
conditioners [4].
The thermal energy demand for cooling per m 2 is not necessarily directly dependent on the climatic condition since
buildings in colder climates are usually better insulated [5]. Correspondingly, the demand for high quality room air
and possibility to adjust the room temperature freely has increased also in Finland. This increases the interest to chiller
applications in new construction production and for buildings under renovation, especially in office buildings,
commercial buildings and other public buildings. According to Airaksinen et al. [6] current demand for cooling energy
in Finnish buildings is 850-2100 GWh and it is steadily increasing.
The European Commission Energy Roadmap 2050 [7] states that the coal-free future determines the reduction of
primary energy production which is approximated to be up to 20% by 2030 and up to 41% by 2050. This means that
the energy savings has to be made in all sectors of economy. Thus, although cooling sector is increasing, the increase
in production should not increase the primary energy demand. Absorption chillers use very little electricity compared
to mechanical chillers because they use waste heat instead of electric motor or engine to produce the needed
compression [8]. Therefore, they could settle part of the problem by increasing the cooling production with variable
heat sources in flexible configurations.
An EU Strategy on Heating and Cooling [9] recommends the exploitation of tri-generation (simultaneous
generation of heating, cooling and power). Absorption chillers could provide savings in electricity production together
with combined heat and power production especially during the summer, when space heating is not needed.
Absorption chillers can also be powered by solar heat [10,11] which can ease achieving the 55% share of renewable
energy according to European Commission Energy Roadmap 2050 [7].
The cost for cooling is closely related to prevailing electricity and fuel prices. The integration of the absorption
cooling in the energy system becomes more profitable, if waste heat and natural water sources are available. These
kind of conditions can be found in most of the Finnish suburban areas, since Finland has long history in combined
heat and power production with local biomass fuels as well as long coastline at the Baltic Sea and inland waters.
Absorption chillers can be widely utilized both in district-level (e.g., [13–15]) and in building-level (e.g., [11,16]
energy systems. Its prospects in Finnish energy systems has not been evaluated. This article aims to support wider
rollout of absorption chillers in Finland through introducing recent cooling trends and reviewing potential absorption
chiller applications.

2. Absorption cooling

The absorption refrigeration is a non-mechanical option to utilize waste heat (hot air, hot water, steam or hot
exhaust) from process applications for cooling. They are typically powered by heat from a district heating, heat
recovery or cogeneration heat, but also sun is used as a heat source for refrigeration. Chiller capacities are usually
several hundred kW [11,17]. Although the efficiency of absorption cycle is low compared to other commercially used
cooling cycles, the energy input for the absorption is free, since the aim is to exploit produced heat that would
otherwise be unused. Most absorption systems need an internal solution pump that consumes little electric power.
However, this consumption is very small compared to an electric motor-driven compression cycle chiller. Therefore,
technology is interesting in the point of view of saving energy.
Basic absorption chiller consists of generator, absorber, evaporator, and condenser [18]. In order to avoid the
mechanical work [19], thermal heat input from the surroundings to the solution of refrigerant and absorbent is used to
induce the compression. The refrigerant and the absorbent have different boiling temperatures. The input heat energy
is used to boil the refrigerant out of the solution while the absorbent stays liquid. The refrigerant continues its way as
vapor to the condenser where it cools down to high-pressure liquid due to cooling water. The liquid absorbent instead
passes through the solution heat exchanger back to the absorber. After the condenser, the refrigerant liquid passes
through an expansion device to the evaporator, where it provides cooling to external heat and again become vapor.
 Heidi Saastamoinen et al. / Energy Procedia 149 (2018) 307–316 309
Saastamoinen Heidi/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 3

Refrigerant vapor then passes into absorber where it condenses to liquid and dilutes the absorbent. This solution is
pumped back to the generator closing the thermal compression cycle [13,19].
The construction, workability, effectiveness and costs of the absorption chiller are highly dependent on properties
of the working fluid solution [13,19]. Error! Reference source not found. The most common working pairs
commercially are H2O-LiBr and NH3-H2O (e.g., [20,21]). In literature, absorption equipment is determined by the
number of effects and stages (e.g., [22]). The term effect refers to the number of times the driving heat is used (number
of generators) and the term stage refers the number of basic cycles [19]. Single-effect systems are widely used in
absorption cooling projects. However, since the coefficient of performance (COP) of the single-effect systems is low,
double-effect or triple-effect systems are more feasible for commercial use [21]. The multiple stage cycles expand the
workable area of the basic cycle [22]. The absorption chillers can be fired indirectly with heat recovered from another
process such as solar collectors, district heating network or a boiler. This heat is delivered to the generator with heat
exchanger. The directly fired chiller obtains the heat input from combustion [19].
Absorption machines are manufactured in small and large scale. The technical information of chillers can be found
from the webpages of manufacturers AGO, Carrier, Climatewell, Broad, EAW, Ebara, Kawasaki, LG, SolarNext,
Robur, Rotartica, SorTech, Thermax (Trane), Yazaki, and York. Most of the manufacturers produce chillers in small
scale for air-conditioning. These chillers are usually water fired. However, for instance, Carrier, Ebara, Kawasaki,
Thermax, Yazaki, York® and AGO also produce large-scale units for industrial cooling and storage, and for large
public buildings. Yazaki produces water fired chillers up to 175 kW cooling capacity, but chillers with larger capacity
are gas fired. Thermax, AGO, and Carrier produce steam and water powered large-scale chillers.

3. Cooling trends in Finland

3.1. Cooling demand is increasing

According to IEA [1], there has globally been 4% annual increase in space cooling since 1990. Energy consumption
for cooling is expected to increase sharply by 2050 by almost 150% globally [2]. Finnish Meteorological Institute [23]
estimates that the need for cooling energy is going to increase 13-19% due to climate change by the year 2030 in
Finland. They approximate that annual average temperature in Finland will increase 1.2-1.5 °C by 2030 depending on
the region. However, these calculations do not take into account the changes in building regulations. During the past
decades, energy efficiency of buildings in Finland has increased due to prevailing regulation [24] and, thus, the heating
demand has decreased and need for air conditioning and cooling increased [6]. In addition, the public demand for
higher quality for indoor conditions has increased.
According to European Commission [9], the cooling demand for all single-family houses is more than twice as
high as that of all multi-family buildings. In Finland, 50% of citizens lived in single-family houses in the end of 2015
[25]. There has been 25-fold increase in the number of heat pumps in Finland since 2000 [26]. The annual increase is
about 60,000 units. A huge majority of these, about 45,000, is small (0-6 kW) air-to-air heat pumps which are installed
mainly to single-family houses. Partly this is due to the people’s willingness to decrease heating costs but an equally
important aspect is the opportunity to space cooling during the summer periods.
According to Airaksinen et al. [6] cooling demand in Finland depends on the economic growth, energy system
development, as well as amount and quality of buildings and urban development. They present four scenarios: BAU,
LAMA, HAJA, and DUO. If the economic growth stays at current rate (BAU) or decelerates (LAMA), present energy
systems and regional structure stays and reconstruction of buildings is emphasized. If economic growth is moderate
(HAJA), migration is uniform in the country and more single-family houses are build. This increases the use of
individual cooling systems. If the economic growth is fast (DUO), city areas are going to grow and more high-level
apartment houses are build. Airaksinen et al. [6] refers to the statistics of Helen Ltd, in which the consumption of
cooling energy of an office buildings has varied between 1-5 kWh/m2/year. According to scenarios by Airaksinen et
al., the cooling demand in 2030 in Finnish residential buildings varies between 0.5-12 kWh/m2 and in office buildings
6-39 kWh/m2 depending on the construction year and solar shading. This mean that the cooling demand for office
buildings is going to increase tremendously. According to BAU scenario, the total yearly cooling demand for buildings
in Finland is going to increase from 1300 GWh to 1700 GWh by 2030.
310 Heidi Saastamoinen et al. / Energy Procedia 149 (2018) 307–316
4 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

According to the RESCUE project [27], the normalized specific district cooling market was 33 kWh/capita in 2011
in Finland, which means 178 GWh in total. This share was the third largest in the EU after Sweden and Norway.
According to Airaksinen et al. [6], the market has grown to 190 GWh in recent years. They approximate that by 2030
the district cooling delivery is going to increase 6% every year on average to 490 GWh. RESCUE estimated that the
cooling market in Finland is 11 TWh [27], which is more than 20 times as much as the estimate for the growth in the
district cooling. This means that there is potential for absorption chillers also in decentralized market.
Werner [28] estimates that the average specific cooling demand in Finland is 45 kWh/m2 in the service sector, 20
kWh/m2 in the residential sector and 28 kWh/m2 in total. Multiplying these numbers with the total floor areas of the
named building types and summarizing these two gives 8.8 TWh for the total cooling demand, which is in good
agreement with RESCUE [27], although Werner [28] states that there are remarkable differences in different cooling
demand estimations based on the assumptions used.

3.2. District cooling capacity increases moderately

Finland has a well-established district heating system and, thus, steady growing district cooling market. In fact,
although the climate is colder in Nordic countries, they have taken the leading position in development of district
cooling in Europe [27]. According to Finnish Energy [29], during the year 2017 223,439 MWh district cooling was
provided in Finland to 491 customers by 9 Energy companies. Majority (65%) of the available buildings in district
cooling network were located in the capital area. The location affects the profitability of district cooling investment
since centralized solution cannot compete with price with other cooling options in sparsely populated areas. In
addition, natural water systems can be utilized in cold production in Nordic countries. The most commonly used
district cooling technology in Finland was heat pump (60%), followed by free cooling (25%) and absorption cooling
(10%). District heat providers extend the network depending on the customer need, and new buildings invest in the
district cooling option for subsequent joining to the network [30]. According to the statistics of Finnish Energy [29]
from the year 2015, the absorption heat pump is only in use at Helen, former Helsingin Energia, where sea water is
used for the condenser.
According to Finnish Energy [29], buildings using district cooling gain a number of benefits, such as the air- and
structure-borne noises and vibration caused by cooling equipment are eliminated, the space for cooling equipment
becomes free for other use, condensing units spoiling the façade of the building are no longer required, and the repair
and maintenance of cooling equipment are no longer necessary. In addition, the possibility of connecting to district
energy networks can provide urban households with a more cost-effective and less carbon-intensive cooling supply
than would be available through individual cooling systems [1].
Recent statistics [31] show that annual sold district cooling energy in Finland has been between around 130-220
MWh with increasing trend (Figure 1). For example, Helen has plans to expand district cooling to new residential
areas by 2020 [32]. In order to help buildings in connecting to district cooling networks, Finnish Energy [33] has
defined common quality requirements, recommendations and guidelines.
Typically, the price in connecting to district cooling is three-folded [34], including: 1) a contract payment, 2) an
annual fee (a fixed capacity payment), and 3) an energy fee. In summer 2014, the energy fee was 31.11 €/MWh in
Helen’s network in Helsinki and 36.42 €/MWh in Fortum Power and Heat’s network in Espoo. Usually, the energy
fee is much smaller during the winter time.
A good district cooling system can have a temperature difference of 10°C between the supply and return water
flows when a good district heating system can have a difference of 50°C [35]. For instance, in the region of Turku,
the delivery temperature for district cold is 7°C and return water temperature is 17°C [36]. This leads to around 4-5
times larger flow (and larger pipe dimensions) to distribute the same energy capacity in a district cooling network. So,
the initial investments for a district cooling system are larger than for a district heating system. On the other hand, the
production costs are much lower.
Typically, losses in Finnish district heating networks vary between 5-8% in dense urban areas and between 10−15
% in less populated areas [37]. Losses in district cooling networks have not been reported. A Swedish calculation
study [38] reports a maximum cooling loss below 2% of the total delivered energy during the season for any analyzed
network configuration.
 Heidi Saastamoinen et al. / Energy Procedia 149 (2018) 307–316 311
Saastamoinen Heidi/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 5

500000 500

400000 400

300000 300
MWh

MW
200000 200

100000 100

0 0
2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Sold Cooling Energy, MWh Cooling Capacity, MW

Forecast, Sold Cooling Energy, MWh (linear) Forecast, Cooling Capacity, MW (linear)

Figure 1. Sold district cooling energy and available district cooling capacity in Finland (modified from the data from [31]) including the forecast
for 2030.

4. Opportunities for absorption chillers in Finnish energy solutions

The first absorption chiller in Finland was district heat operated single-effect chiller at Pitäjämäki, Helsinki [13].
Another former absorption chiller produced cold using surplus heat from brewery in Teivaanmäki, Lahti [39], but was
closed when the brewery was closed. Two existing applications can be found in Finland. Helen uses sea water heat
exchangers to produce condensing water for absorption cooling together with free cooling system [40]. Three out of
six seawater heat exchangers are used for condensing water productions. Finnish company Savo-Solar produces solar
absorbers for thermal systems and they have been tested for office heating and absorption cooling in Mikkeli [41,42].

4.1. Solar driven absorption systems

Cooling demand usually increases along with the solar intensity, which increases the feasibility of solar cooling
systems (e.g., [43,44]). Although Finland is located approximately between latitudes 60 and 70, yearly solar irradiation
in Southern Finland is close to countries like Germany and Belgium [45–47]. The electricity production differences
can be even lower since the efficiency of commonly used PV-panels increases in lower temperatures [45]. Solar power
is produced mainly in small scale in Finland and typical systems are off-grid solutions installed to summer cottages
to supply energy for few applications [45] or solutions to increase renewable energy share of one-family and apartment
houses. Turnkey solar energy packages are sold to households by energy producing companies [48–50]. The increase
of electricity use in single-family house cooling could be covered by solar energy.
Today, solar thermal systems in Finland are still rare. One reason is relatively low price of heat compared to
Central-Europe. For instance in 2013, national average prices for district heat in Finland was 16.3 €/GJ whereas for
instance in Germany it was 21.2 €/GJ [51]. Small applications are installed occasionally. Sundial Oy [52] estimates
that thermal collectors are installed approximately 4000 m2/year in Finland. However, an increasing trend in solar
thermal installations is seen in Europe [53], and this trend might reach Finland as well. Thus, absorption cooling with
solar thermal energy input would become considerable option to reach the European Commission’s yearly target to
increase the renewable energy share in cooling systems by at least 1% of the final consumption every year.
Solar thermal systems in Finland have been analyzed [54,55] and their feasibility estimated [56]. It is concluded,
that the installed solar thermal systems have been generally feasible, if the system is sized accurately, solar collectors
have high efficiency and the collectors are installed to the right direction [56]. However, it is still estimated that with
solar photovoltaic panels and air to water heat pump systems less energy is wasted, since the spare electricity can be
more easily utilized compared to spare heat [54].
Still ongoing development of the solar absorption cycles hinder their market entry, and thus the cost reduction of
applications. Solar absorption cycles have been widely experimentally tested in the air-conditioning of buildings
[16,18,57,58]. Majority of these studies deal with climatic conditions not relevant to Finland and are located in much
312 Heidi Saastamoinen et al. / Energy Procedia 149 (2018) 307–316
6 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

lower latitudes than for example Helsinki (60°N, 25°E) in Finland. Hwang et al. [59] lists the critical barriers for wide
use of the solar cooling technology that include low energy conversion efficiency, high cost of solar collectors and
thermal cooling technologies, the cost of installation, and intermittent nature of the solar energy production. Weber et
al. [60] point out also the lack of standardization of systems. Aliane et al. [61] suggest that combination of further
domestic services with the solar cooling installation could keep the absorption cooling system feasible. They also
conclude that the implementation of solar cooling system requires holistic overall design of the configuration not only
the collector and cooling system, but also energy storage, auxiliary heating and cooling devices and the heat rejection
systems. Agyenim et al. [62] tested 4.5kW LiBr/H2O chiller with a 1000 litre cold storage tank at the Cardiff
University. They found that the absorption technology (the performance) was competitive with available air-
conditioning systems. However, due to its high cost the technology was not commercially competitive.
In Finland, cooling towers are not needed for serving to reject the heat from the chiller coolant water due to natural
sources of cold water. Thus, the investment to free cooling combined with the absorption chiller coolant water
proposed by Ali et al. [63] could be less expensive in Finland. Albers [64] observed that spray water consumption
during the months of moderate ambient temperatures (typical to Finland) can be reduced more than 80% due to the
increased thermal efficiency of the thermally driven chiller. However, Eicker and Pietruschka [65] remind that in
moderate climate conditions with low cooling demand, the system costs are high. Winter period can also cause damage
in the equipment needed for solar powered absorption chiller [64].
Finnish company Savo-Solar produces direct solar absorbers for thermal systems. Their collectors have been used
in hybrid district heating plants, office heating and domestic heating. Reda et al. [42] made an energy assessment for
two solar cooling systems with Savo-Solar collectors, storage tank, and an absorption chiller. They found that for an
office cooling application in Finland, large building roof area has to be available. They also found that the collector,
storage tank and absorption chiller connected in parallel, so that both the collector and the tank supplies the chille,r
had better performance than a system in which the components were connected in series. The profitability analysis
was not made in these studies.

4.2. CHP and absorption chiller

Similarly to other Northern European countries district heating is common in Finland [20]. It covers 46% of Finnish
heat demand [66] having largest percentage share of the used heating systems and is used in most of the cities and
villages. It is energy efficient way to produce heat since most of the heat (3/4) is produced in combined heat and power
(CHP) plants. Approximately 1/3 of the district heating is produced by biomass [66]. The increase of heat consumption
in Finland especially during the summer time would make the electricity production in existing CHP plants more
profitable. This kind of combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) production is commonly called also trigeneration.
Because heat demand is seasonal and low during summer, cooling production through an absorption chiller enables
additional revenue for a CCHP [32]. Considerable energy saving, high trigeneration efficiency as well as proper
payback time is obtained for integration of CHP site with absorption chiller [67]. Both economic and environmental
benefits are obtained in the integration of absorption technology with municipal solid waste-fired power plant [68].
Trygg and Amini [69] studied combining absorption cooling with existing compression cooling in the system in
Norrköping, Sweden, which can be compared to Finnish urban areas by its boundaries for cooling. In Norrköping,
cooling is produced with CHP plant and oil-fired boiler. District cooling is produced for shopping centers, the library,
offices, and university. Cooling is also produced locally for seven large industries. In the study, absorption cooling is
introduced as an option for compression cooling, which is the main source of Finnish district cooling. It was observed
that if only the energy systems are compared, with and without the option for absorption cooling, the costs for cooling
production decrease only slightly when absorption is introduced. However, if European electricity prices are taken
into account in the simulation, the absorption become a respectable option. This is explained with the heat demand
depending on the season. Cooling is needed during the summer, when the heat demand is low and, thus, heat can be
used for cooling with low cost.
Fahlén et al. [14] studied the potential of absorption cooling in district heating system in Göteborg, Sweden, another
city comparable to Finnish cities. They conclude that absorption cooling could contribute to more resource-efficient
energy systems by increasing the heat utilization in CHP production especially during the times for lowest heat
demand (June, July and August) in Nordic countries. According to their study utilization of absorption cooling
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Saastamoinen Heidi/ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000 7

decreases CO2 emission compared to compression cooling, if waste heat is used for absorption. If absorption cooling
increases the need for CHP plant operation, the CO2 reduction depends on the alternative use of the needed fuel.

5. Discussion

The potential to increase cooling in Finnish buildings is significantly higher than the amount of current applications.
In addition, demand for cooling is increasing and almost all new office buildings have a cooling application installed.
The increasing demand for cooling energy should be produced without significant increase in primary energy
consumption. In ecological point of view, thermal cooling has significant advantages compared to conventional
compression chillers especially when used in centralized application and combined with free cooling [70]. Shifting
from compression to absorption cooling decreases the electricity demand and rounds out the peaks in the demand
especially during the summer, and thereby, decreases CO2 emissions.
The costs for the absorption cooling (€/kW) depend highly on the price of the equipment and on the price of the
heat and electricity. The costs for cooling decreases along with the cooling capacity of the equipment. According to
survey to equipment suppliers few years ago, the price for cooling decreases from approximately 300 €/kW to 100
€/kW when the capacity of the equipment increases from 100 kW to 1200 kW. Brückner et al. [71] analyses that
absorption chillers are economically feasible only for the enthusiast consumer type investors meaning early adopters
with now not seeking for profit. For real estate, more than 2500 h operating hours per year is needed and for industrial
application, the cost of the technology needs to come down for economically feasible investment.
More input energy is needed for absorption compared to compression. If the costs for cold production is compared
by calculating the price of input energy for the systems, compression appears to be the more cost effective option in
many cases. The price of electricity needs to be significantly higher than the price of heat, to make absorption more
profitable option [70]. This is especially clear in small and medium scale. However, in many applications considered
for absorption, the heat would otherwise be wasted, and thus the absorption is also financially an attractive option.
It is estimated that the future district heating in Finland enables trigeneration (simultaneous production of
electricity, heating and cooling) [72]. Even the Energy Efficiency Directive requires member states to examine their
opportunities for utilizing cogeneration, district heating and district cooling, and to take the necessary measures to
promote cogeneration if this proves the most advantageous alternative according to a cost-benefit analysis [73].
Already now, there are examples of such implementations in Finland. Wider adaption of absorption chillers in
trigeneration would enable cooling production without significant increase in CO2 emissions since there is no need
for extra electricity [74].
If the waste heat is produced in CHP plant that utilizes fossil fuels, such as coal, the useful heat is taxable and the
tax depends on the heating value of the fuel and on the generated CO2 emissions [75]. Waste heat from Finnish
industries can also be used in decentralized absorption cooling or cooling at the industry site especially in summer
time. There is a long history for instance in pulp and paper production and metal production in Finland and the sector
for liquid fuel production is increasing.
The energy performance of building directive (EPBD) recast (EN 15603) [76] requires that all new building should
be nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs) by the end of year 2020. The Directive 2010/31/EU also defines a ‘nearly
zero-energy building’ as a building that has a very high energy performance and that the nearly zero or very low
amount of energy required should be covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources, including
energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby. Producing the energy nearby jointly for a number of
buildings or for a whole neighborhood also increases the wider rollout of district cooling.
Further analyses of e.g. waste heat potential in Finland, solar thermal applications as supporting systems for district-
heated buildings enabling high-temperature district heating utilization with low-temperature technologies, as well as
differences of energy, cost and emission of possible district cooling technologies would bring interesting outlooks to
the topic of absorption chillers in Finnish energy systems.

6. Conclusions

It is estimated that the cooling demand in Finnish buildings will increase. This can be partly met with passive
building design solutions, mainly related to the building facades. However, there remains a need for active cooling
314 Heidi Saastamoinen et al. / Energy Procedia 149 (2018) 307–316
8 Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

technologies. Absorption chillers are utilized in many such solutions both in district-level and in building-level cooling
solutions. This article dealt with their outlooks in Finnish energy systems.
Well-established district heating system in Finland enables absorption cooling both at district level as well as at
building level so that the district heat is connected to customer’s absorption cooling application. During the summer,
CHP systems lack heat consumers while cooling demand increases. Absorption chillers can increase the head load by
utilizing the waste heat in cold production and thus enable cost reductions in CHP systems.
Solar heating has been used in several systems in Finland and available technology is applicable to Finnish
environment. However, solar thermal cooling is not yet utilized in Finland even if major cooling demands and
irradiation occur simultaneously. If the price of the equipment reduce, the solar thermal cooling systems will more
easily become reality in Finnish markets.
Today, using absorption chillers in Finnish energy systems is limited. However, clearly there exists new and
increasing opportunities both due to increasing cooling demands and by more efficient utilization of waste and solar
heat.

Acknowledgements

This study was performed as part of VTT’s Ingrid research program under the theme “Flexibility in energy
systems”. The authors are grateful for the financial support.

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