Performance of solar powered cooling system using Parabolic Trough Collector in UAE

This paper addresses the potential of integrating the Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTC) with a double-effect absorption chiller for the purpose of space cooling in residential buildings. The proposed model was designed such to provide a continuous cooling. During the absence of sun, the bio-mass heater was used as an auxiliary heating source. In this study, the thermal performance of the proposed integrated system was investigated and a feasibility study was conducted in order to assess the system's economic and environmental impacts. The obtained model was implemented on a case study represented by a four-floored residential building based in Dubai with a net cooling load requirement of 366 kW. The obtained results from the numerical simulation were analyzed to identify the optimum configuration in terms of feasibility and potential savings. It was found that the hybrid system with 30% solar contribution is the most viable compared to other alternatives in terms of performance and cost. The proposed system achieved Annual Energy Consumption (AEC) savings of about 519322 kWh and a reduction by 65% in the annual operating costs. The payback period of the proposed system was found to be 2.5 years only. Moreover; the system reduced the Carbon-dioxide emissions by 304 tons/year.