Simulation of a solar-assisted absorption air conditioning system for applications in Puerto Rico

Regions without conventional fuel sources have felt the need for the development of new technologies for air conditioning applications as cost of electrical energy production has continually risen the cost of air conditioning by conventional means. This paper deals with the simulation of a solar-assisted absorption system for air conditioning application in Puerto Rico. A simple thermodynamic model for the solar assisted absorption system has been developed. A solar energy based thermal storage system along with an auxiliary heater is used to provide the required energy in the generator of this absorption system. Results from a parametric analysis to study the influence of the absorber, generator, condenser and evaporator temperatures, on the COP of the system are presented in this paper. The influence of two different refrigerant/absorbent pairs, water/lithium bromide and water/lithium-chloride have also been studied. A sub-system consisting of an array of flat plate solar collectors along with a hot water storage is modeled and verified with the data from an already existing system operating in Sacramento. Finally, off-design performance of a 35 kW solar-assisted absorption system is simulated to report the auxiliary heating requirement for a typical summer day operation in southern Puerto Rico.