Potential of Solar Cooling Systems for Peak Demand Reduction

We investigated the technical feasibility of solar cooling for peak demand reduction using a building energy simulation program (DOE2.1D). The system studied was an absorption cooling system with a thermal coefficient of performance of 0.8 driven by a solar collector system with an efficiency of 50% with no thermal storage. The analysis for three different climates showed that, on the day withpeak cooling load, about 17% of the peak load could be met satisfactorily with the solar-assisted cooling system without any thermal storage. A performance availability analysis indicated that the solar cooling system should be designed for lower amounts of available solar resources that coincide with the hours during which peak demand reduction is required. The analysis indicated that in dryclimates, direct-normal concentrating collectors work well for solar cooling; however, in humid climates, collectors that absorb diffuse radiation work better.