Performance analysis of a solar-powered air-conditioning system using absorption refrigeration cycle and high efficiency cooling technologies installed in Colombia

In this work an analysis of the performance of solar absorption air-cooling system installed to a building office of the Bolivarian Pontifical University (UPB) of Medellín in Colombia is presented. The solar powered, single-effect Li-Br absorption cooling system using evacuated heat pipe collectors, has a nominal capacity of 11, 5 kW and it is implemented with a 17, 6 kW indirect evaporative cooler (iec), responsible to improve the energy efficiency and to renovate the air in the building, for a total cooling capacity of more than 29 kW (more than 8 refrigeration tons). A system of chilled water capillary mats is implemented for air conditioning, where the heat transfer takes place through a radiant ceiling, reducing recirculation airflow and increasing the temperature of chilled water supplied, allowing a reduction in energy consumption by airflow and an improvement in energy efficiency of the solar-powered absorption cooling system. The performance is evaluated for three main subsystems composing the air conditioning system the absorption chiller, the heat pipe evacuated tube collectors and the indirect evaporative cooler. A series of test-measurements (TMs) are carried out varying the value of one or more particular parameters that affects the performance. Some indicators, which describe the performance, are calculated and compared, so an evaluation of the different TMs is provided. In more is presented an economic comparison with a conventional scheme in order to assess the potential energy savings of the system, the simple payback period of the investment is calculated for different size and cooling demand for Colombian and Italian case.