Design and performance analysis of a thermoelectric air-conditioning system driven by solar photovoltaic panels

Author(s):  
Moustafa M Aboelmaaref ◽  
Mohamed E Zayed ◽  
Ammar H Elsheikh ◽  
Ahmed A Askalany ◽  
Jun Zhao ◽  
...  

Solar cooling technologies can play a vital role in renewable energy applications development. Thermoelectric systems have shown promising advantages over traditional refrigeration systems such as high thermal comfort, active adaptability, no moving parts, and refrigerants free. In this work, a novel thermoelectric air-conditioning system (TEACS) driven by photovoltaics (PV) is experimentally and theoretically investigated under the hot climate conditions of Sohag city (30°26′N, 42°31′E), Egypt for air conditioning of a typical small-size office room under different thermal loads. During day time, PV panels produce electricity which utilized to drive the TEACS directly and to charge batteries that store electricity to be exploited during nighttime. Moreover, a numerical model implemented in TRNSYS coupled with MATLAB software is developed to evaluate the performance of the proposed TEACS. The influences of varying the input electric current on the coefficient of performance (COP), cooling capacity, and average air room temperature are also studied. The results showed that a design point with an input current of 2.5 A for a cooling capacity of 30 W could be selected to maximize the cooling performance, in which the COP of the TEACS is found to be 2.2. Moreover, the daily average air temperature of the conditioned room was found to be 23.5, 25.5, 27.5, 28.5, and 30.5  °C for internal thermal loads of 0.0 W, 65.0 W,130.0 W, 195.0 W, and 260.0 W, respectively, at average air intake temperature of 36  °C, daily average input current of 4.28 A and air volume flow rate of 14.4 m3/h. It can be concluded that the TEACS powered by PV could be considered as a proper alternative to the traditional vapor compression systems.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousuf Alhendal ◽  
Abdalla Gomaa ◽  
Gamal Bedair ◽  
Abdulrahim Kalendar

The energy and exergy of low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants were investigated experimentally and theoretically. Refrigerants with a modest GWP100 of  ≤ 150 can be sufficient for bringing down emissions which were concerned for the automotive air-conditioning system. Three types of low-GWP refrigerants, R152a, R1234yf, and R1234ze(E), were examined with particular reference to the current high-GWP of R134a. The effect of different evaporating and condensing temperatures in addition to compressor speed was considered. The purpose was to bring a clear view of the performance characteristics of possible environment friendly alternatives of R134a. The analysis was carried out with compressor power, cooling capacity, coefficient of performance, exergy destruction, and exergy efficiency. It was noted that the total exergy destruction of R1234yf was reduced by 15% compared to that of R134a. The refrigerant R1234ze(E) has the highest energetic and exergetic performance compared with the other investigated refrigerants.


2019 ◽  
pp. 49-53
Author(s):  
Євген Іванович Трушляков ◽  
Микола Іванович Радченко ◽  
Андрій Миколайович Радченко ◽  
Сергій Георгійович Фордуй ◽  
Сергій Анатолійович Кантор ◽  
...  

Maintaining the operation of refrigeration compressors in nominal or close modes by selecting a rational design thermal load and distributing it in response to the behavior of the current thermal load according to the current climatic conditions is one of the promising reserves for improving the energy efficiency of air conditioning systems, which implementation ensures maximum or close to it in the annual cooling production according to air conditioning duties. In general case, the total range of current thermal loads of any air-conditioning system includes a range of unstable loads caused by precooling of ambient air with significant fluctuations in the cooling capacity according to current climatic conditions, and a range of relatively stable cooling capacity expended for further lowering the air temperature from a certain threshold temperature to the final outlet temperature. If a range of stable thermal load can be provided within operating a conventional compressor in a mode close to nominal, then precooling the ambient air with significant fluctuations in thermal load requires adjusting the cooling capacity by using a variable speed compressor or using the excess of heat accumulated at reduced load. Such a stage principle of cooling ensures the operation of refrigerating machines matching the behavior of current thermal loads of any air-conditioning system, whether the central air conditioning system with ambient air procession in the central air conditioner or its combination with the local indoors recirculation air conditioning systems in the air-conditioning system. in essence, as combinations of subsystems – precooling of ambient air with the regulation of cooling capacity and subsequent cooling air to the mouth of the set point temperature under relatively stable thermal load.


Author(s):  
Yu Zhao ◽  
Zhaogang Qi ◽  
Jiangping Chen ◽  
Baixing Xu ◽  
Bin He

This study investigated the performance of a typical mobile air conditioning system using R134a and R1234yf as the working fluids under different working conditions. The system is composed of a microchannel parallel flow condenser, a laminated plate evaporator, a variable displacement compressor, and a thermal expansion valve. The different working cycles of each refrigerant were comprehensively compared. The optimum refrigerant charge amount of the R1234yf system was approximately 95% of the R134a system during drop-in tests. The performance of the R134a system was a little higher than that of the R1234yf system. The cooling capacity and system coefficient of performance of the R134a system were 12.4% and 9% larger, respectively. This result is mainly because of the thermophysical property differences between the two refrigerants and the improper expansion valve opening of R1234yf. Analysis on the whole cycle revealed that the R1234yf system could obtain a higher evaporating pressure and a larger superheat and subcooling. Redesigning the expansion valve for R1234yf could improve performance of the system.


Author(s):  
Abdullah Alabdulkarem ◽  
Michael Cristiano ◽  
Yunho Hwang ◽  
Reinhard Radermacher

Packaged terminal air conditioning (PTAC) systems are typically utilized for space heating and cooling in hotels and apartment buildings. However, they cool the air to low temperature for dehumidification and some reheating may be required to resolve overcooling. A prototype of a solid desiccant wheel assisted separate sensible and latent cooling (SSLC) PTAC system was designed and constructed, which has a cooling capacity of 3.5 kW. The heat exchangers and vapor compression cycle were modeled in in-house software, CoilDesigner and VapCyc. The modeling results show improvement in the coefficient of performance from 3.12 to 4.05 or 30%. Cost study was conducted to evaluate the economics of SSLC PTAC units within the U.S. climate conditions. The study shows the payback period for the national average could be as low as 2 years. The system was experimentally tested and its performance was not as expected due to some design challenges. This paper highlights the lessons learned from the modeling and experimental work and discusses the economic analysis in addition to future design improvements and system optimization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (03) ◽  
pp. 1850021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapnil Dubey ◽  
Alison Subiantoro

Thermal systems of buildings in the tropics are highly energy intensive. In this study, a novel integrated solar photovoltaic–thermal–refrigeration (PVTR) system used to produce hot water and air-conditioning in the tropical climate conditions of Singapore was analyzed. A dynamic simulation model was formulated for the analysis. Mathematical models were developed for the PV sandwich attached with a solar flat plate collector and for the main components of the refrigeration system. Thorough investigation of the electrical and thermal performances of the system were conducted through the analysis of coefficient of performance (COP), cooling capacity, water temperature and heat capacity in water heater, photovoltaic (PV) module temperature and PV efficiency. The results show that attractive electrical and thermal performance can be achieved with a maximum annual cooling COP of 9.8 and a heating COP of 11.3. The PV efficiency and power saving were 14% and 53%, respectively. The annual cooling, heating and PV energy produced were 9.7, 15.6 and 1.6[Formula: see text]MWh, respectively. The financial payback period of the system was 3.2 years and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction annually was 12.6 tons of CO2 equivalents (tCO2e).


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5614
Author(s):  
Haidan Wang ◽  
Shengbo Li ◽  
Yulong Song ◽  
Xiang Yin ◽  
Feng Cao ◽  
...  

Due to its considerable impact on climate, bus air conditioning systems are being pushed to take a new and sustainable path. Electric buses relying on transcritical CO2 air conditioning units are perceived to be eco-friendly and future-proof solutions to achieving such a target. However, in order to have highly efficient air conditioning systems, the CO2 charge needs to be optimized. In this paper the energy and exergy-based analyses were performed to investigate the effect of normalized refrigerant charge on the system performance by using a test rig of a transcritical CO2 air conditioning unit for an 8 m electric bus. Results showed that the normalized refrigerant charge range of 0.248~0.336 was recommended in order to ensure the maximum coefficient of performance (COP). In addition, in sufficient charge conditions, the optimal COP, cooling capacity and exergy efficiency were 1.716, 18.97 kW and 29.79%, respectively, under the standard refrigeration condition of 35 °C/27 °C. As the ambient temperature rose from 35 °C to 40 °C, the COP, cooling capacity and exergy efficiency decreased by 16.03%, 10.90% and 12.22%, respectively. Furthermore, the exergy efficiency was found not to be sensitive to slightly insufficient charge, whereas overcharge was observed to be even beneficial to exergy efficiency under the condition of ensuring the maximum COP. In addition, insufficient refrigerant charging seriously affected the irreversible losses in the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers, whereas slight overcharge had little effect on the component exergy efficiency. Finally, the need to improve the CO2 compressor efficiency to enhance the system performance was revealed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andriyanto Setyawan

Obstructions of air flow in the outdoor unit could block the condenser air flow and reduce its heat rejection As a result, it could decrease the performance of a room air conditioning system. The paper presents the effects of the air flow obstruction of a condensing unit on the performance of a split-type air conditioner with refrigerant R410A. The study was conducted experimentally by employing front and side obstructions with varied distance from the condensing unit. The front obstruction of 100 cm height was applied at varied distance from 10 cm to 100 cm, while the side obstruction of the same height was applied at distance of 5, 10, and 15 cm. The presence of air flow obstructions results in the decrease of cooling capacity and coefficient of performance (COP). On the other hand, it increases the input power of the AC unit. From the experiment, it is obvious that the distance of front obstruction of 10 cm results in the reduction of cooling capacity by 46% and COP by 56%. It is also revealed that the distance of the front obstruction of 50 cm or more has no significant effect for the performance of the air conditioning unit. In addition, the side obstructions have the less significant effect than that of the front obstruction.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig W. Wood ◽  
Josua P. Meyer

Abstract This study involves the experimental verification of a universal heat exchanger accumulator design procedure. A heat exchange accumulator was manufactured according to a mathematical model developed by the authors and installed into a small air conditioning system. Experimental results show that the addition of the heat exchanger accumulator results in a liquid overfeeding operation that replaces the previously utilized direct expansion operation. It provides an improved air conditioning system that has a 7.5% increase in coefficient of performance and a 4.4% increase in refrigerant mass flow rate. A pressure ratio reduction has a positive effect on the compressor performance and life span. Liquid overfeeding increases the cooling capacity of the system by 6.5%. When compared to direct expansion systems, this basic heat exchanger accumulator provides a reduction in cycling losses and power consumption, an increase in suction pressure and an improvement in isentropic compressor efficiency.


Author(s):  
I Made Rasta ◽  
I Nyoman Suamir

This paper presents results of a study on split air conditioning (AC) performance of a city hotel in Bali, Indonesia. The study applied a practical global approach to appraising the performance of existing AC systems and their installation in a city hotel. The results obtained indicate that improper AC system selection and installation potentially reduces their energy performance which include COP (coefficient of performance), EER (energy efficiency ratio), and SEI (system efficiency index). The finding also shows that improper system selection and installation has damaged 54 unit compressors of 90 AC systems installed in a particular building within three years’ period. Overall number of compressors that have been damaged in three years can reach 76 units accounted for about 23.1% of the total AC systems installed in the hotel. It is also found a reduction on AC system cooling capacity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 554 ◽  
pp. 464-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiman Dahlan Afiq ◽  
Amirah Haziqah Zulkifli ◽  
Nasution Henry ◽  
Abdul Aziz Azhar ◽  
Mohd Rozi Mohd Perang ◽  
...  

The usage of electric compressor inside conventional non-electric vehicle is a new shifts in current vehicle air conditioning system which currently using belt-driven compressor to operate. The usage of belt-driven compressor causes the compressor speed to vary with engine speed rotation, which we cannot control. The usage of electric compressor to replace the belt-driven compressor makes the speed to be according to the cooling load and thus reducing engine load. The current research activity focuses on the development of electric compressor using direct current (DC) from vehicles battery to replace current belt-driven in vehicle air conditioning system. Performance study is focusing on temperature inside cabin, cooling capacity, compressor power consumption and coefficient of performance (COP). The DC compressor speed is varying at 1800, 2000, 2200, 2400, 2500 and 3000 rpm at internal heat load of 1000W with temperature set-point of 20°C. The system uses On/Off controller and compared to belt-driven compressor. The overall experimental results in better energy efficiency at the expense of lower cooling capacity.


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