What is Solar Air-Conditioning?

Solar driven air-conditioning uses the thermal energy (hot water) from solar roof
collectors to drive an absorption chiller to generate cold water for cooling. The chillers
used in solar AC systems do not rely on compressors (the core of standard airconditioning and refrigeration systems) to produce their cooling effect. Compressordriven cooling systems require high levels of grid-supplied electrical energy to operate.
Solar air-conditioning systems, by comparison, require almost no grid-supplied electrical
energy to operate and can even be designed to be powered by a complimentary solar
electric array.

Status of the Technology

Solar air-conditioning is a mature technology and Solar Delivered!s partners have
designed commercial-scale solar air-conditioning systems that have been in
continuous operation since 1985. All of the required components are off-the-shelf
hardware (chillers, collectors, circulating pumps, control systems, valves, and tanks).
Solar heated hot water is the fuel that energizes the system and can be produced by a
variety of approaches ranging from integrated solar roofs, vacuum tube heat pipes, to flat
plate collectors.
Solar cooling system design follows the same decision pathway as conventional airconditioning systems; thermal analysis of a structures solar gain and cooling loads,
design of zones and the distribution system for cooling, and specification of hardware for
the particular project. System installation and commissioning also parallels that of a
conventional air-conditioning system.

Solar AC System Components

Solar AC systems are designed
around four major components,
1.) solar collectors, 2.) an
insulated hot water storage tank,
3.) a chiller, and 4.) a cooling
tower. In the Caribbean a solar
AC system requires about 80 ft2
of collector area for each ton of
AC capacity. Water that is heated
on the roof is pumped to a highly
insulated hot water storage tank.
This storage tank acts as a
thermal battery, supplying the
heat energy needed to drive the
absorption chiller - even during
the evening. As its name suggest, the chiller, via the absorption cycle (see page 4),
produces chilled water (44 F) that is pumped to fan coils in the space to be airconditioned. The cooling tower discharges waste heat to the outside air, much in the same
way
a
standard
air-conditioner
discharges its waste heat to the outdoors
when operating. In locations with a
source of water below 82 F, the cooling
tower can be replaced by a small liquid
heat exchanger.
The solar hot water collectors can be
mounted on a structures roof or on the
gournd away from the building as in the
photo to the left. All other major
components can be mounted either
inside or outside the building. A
remarkable characteristic of Solar AC
systems is that the hotter it gets, the
better they work

Solar AC Cost of Ownership

At current electric rates, solar AC has a lower cost of ownership, over 10 years, than
conventional air-conditioning systems! The following analysis compares the costs of
ownership (over 10 years) for a solar air-conditioning system with those of a standard
compressor driven air-conditioning system.

System Analysis Parameters

Capacity 30 tons
Electric cost $.32 /kWh
10 year financing @10%
3,650 hours operation/yr (10 hrs/day)
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating 14

10-Yr Cost of Ownership

Installation Capital Costs
US Fed Tax Credit (30%)
Financing Costs
Energy Costs
O&M Costs

Solar Cooling
$450,000
($135,000)
$184,530
$ 31,500
$ 5,000

Standard AC
$ 99,000
$
(0)
$
58,000
$ 299,139
$ 15,000

$ 221,030

$ 471,139

* This analysis based on costs in the US Virgin Islands

* The $31,500 energy cost for the Solar AC system (circulating pump operation) can be eliminated with the installation
of a solar electric array that would cost about $35,000 to install.

There are two important points to make about the above analysis:
Once the 10 year financing loan has been retired, the Solar AC system saves its
owner $25,000 a year in electric costs compared to the standard AC system!
The above analysis does not factor in any rise in electric rates for 10 years.
Over the last five years, however, WAPAs electric rates have risen by an
average of over 5% each year!

How Can Hot Water Make Cold Water For Cooling?

Although it seems counterintuitive, hot water can be used as the energy source for
generating air-conditioning (gas refrigerators work on the same principle). What follows
is a description of how an absorption chiller works. The absorption cycle is energized by
a heat medium (hot water) at 70C (158F) to 95C (203F) from any source (solar,
industrial waste heat, other) which is then used to drive an absorption chiller. Hot water
can be stored in insulated tanks which allow for evening operation.

Absorption chiller or chiller-heaters use a solution of lithium bromide and water, under
vacuum, as the working fluid. Water is the refrigerant and lithium bromide, a non-toxic
salt, is the absorbent. Refrigerant, liberated by the heat from the solution, produces a
refrigerating effect in the evaporator when cooling water is circulated through the
condenser and absorber (see schematic on following page)

Generator
When the heat medium temperature exceeds 68C (154.4F), the solution pump forces
dilute lithium bromide solution into the generator. The solution boils vigorously under
vacuum and droplets of concentrated solution are carried with the refrigerant vapor to the
primary separator. After separation, refrigerant vapor flows to the condenser and
concentrated solution is precooled in the heat exchanger
before flowing to the absorber.
Condenser
In the condenser, refrigerant
vapor is condensed on the
surface of the cooling coils and
latent heat, removed by the
cooling water, is rejected to a
cooling tower. Refrigerant liquid
accumulates in the condenser and
then passes through an orifice
into the evaporator.

Evaporator
In the evaporator, the refrigerant liquid is exposed to a substantially deeper vacuum than
in the condenser due to the influence of the absorber. As refrigerant liquid flows over the
surface of the evaporator coil it boils and removes heat equivalent to the latent heat of the
refrigerant, from the chilled water circuit. The recirculation chilled water is cooled to
6.9C (44.5F) and the refrigerant vapor is attracted to the absorber.
Absorber
A deep vacuum in the absorber is maintained by the affinity of the concentrated solution
from the generator with the refrigerant vapor formed in the evaporator. The refrigerant is
absorbed by the concentrated lithium bromide solution flowing across the surface of the
absorber coil. Heat of condensation and dilution are removed by the cooling water and
reject to the cooling tower. The resulting dilution solution is preheated in the heat
exchanger before returning to the generator where the cycle is repeated.
Note: The same absorption chiller can be used to also produce heat for space heating.