The distributed absorption cooling based district heating system was investigated in order to utilizing the reject heat from the combined heat and power (CHP) plant in summer. Compared with the electric compressor cooling, the energy efficient and cost-effectiveness of the distributed absorption cooling were furthermore analyzed by the Fuel Energy Saving Ratio (FESR) method. The sensitivity of some variables, such as the average electric efficiency, heating and electric generation efficiency of the CHP system, and the coefficient of performance (COP) of the chiller, were analyzed. The marginal heating price of the distributed absorption cooling can be obtained. According to the evaluation results, the applicability of the distributed cooling with district heating system is limited by the lower energy efficiency and economical benefits. The approaches to increase the energy efficiency were suggested in this paper. The improved distributed absorption cooling combined with liquid desiccant dehumidification which has higher heating utilization efficiency was put forward and analyzed, and the energy efficiency evaluation results showed that the improved distributed cooling has higher energy efficiency and economical benefits, and great applicability.
Efficient absorption cooling for low district heating return temperatures
