A new absorption refrigeration cycle using solar energy

A new type of absorption refrigeration cycle that is co-driven both by solar energy and electricity was evaluated. The principle of a heat transformer was applied to the absorption refrigeration system to increase its efficiency. In this paper, a thermodynamic model describing the performance of the new cycle was developed and a computer program was written to evaluate its performance. The COP, condenser heat load, the theoretical minimum evaporating temperature and refrigeration capacity for a typical daily load of the system were calculated and compared with those of traditional absorption refrigeration systems. The results show that the new cycle not only overcomes some shortcomings of the traditional absorption cycle with unsteady energy input from a variable source such as solar energy, but also increases the system's coefficient of performance. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.