Performance assessment of a photovoltaic/thermal-powered absorption chiller for a restaurant

Abstract

In recent years the demand for cooling in buildings has grown steadily due to factors such as climate change and increased use of technology in Sweden. The increase of cooling demand occurs mainly during peak demand periods, where there is limited cooling capacity combined with limited distribution capacity in the district cooling network. Sweden has experienced considerable growth in the solar energy market in recent years, though its utilization has been mostly limited to power generation. To fulfill the cooling demand increase, solar driven cooling is a viable solution alternative to traditional cooling methods. The use of solar cooling is still in its early stages in Sweden. The aim of this work is to design a simulation model of a solar absorption cooling system for a full-service restaurant prototype building. The system layout consists of photovoltaic/thermal collector, storage tank, single-effect absorption chiller, auxiliary heater, and cooling tower. The results revealed the system ability to meet the cooling load while delivering sufficient hot water for the establishment. Higher solar fraction confirmed that using photovoltaic/thermal collector is more competitive than solar thermal collectors based on restaurant operational activities. A levelized cost of cooling of 0.164 €kWh⁄ indicated the system cost-effectiveness in comparison to similar setups in other favorable European locations for solar energy utilization.