Investigation of thermal performance of a solar powered absorption refrigeration system

It is well known that the energy consumption of refrigerating and air-conditioning units is as high as heating systems. It is also clear that cooling loads and availability of solar radiation are approximately in phase. Turkey is located in an ideal position to benefit from solar energy for not only water-heating but also cooling. The use of solar powered absorption refrigerating and air-conditioning systems will save energy, especially in the summer season. The contribution of these systems to the Turkish energy sector and, consequently, to the economy will be considerably high. In this study, a combined water-heating and cooling system based on absorption refrigeration was designed and constructed. The system consists of four flat plate collectors, an evaporator, an absorber, a generator, a condenser, a solution pump and two heat exchangers. Each part was custom designed to provide 4000 kcal/h cooling load. In this system, a mixture of R22 and DMETEG (DiMethyl Ether Tetra Ethylene Glycol) is used as the working fluid. The R22, which has a less damaging effect on the ozone layer compared to other CFCs, was employed as refrigerant. The thermodynamic results of the experimental system were compared with theoretical calculations, and a reasonably good agreement was found. The results show that the present system is efficient and effective.