TRNSYS Simulation of a Solar Cooling System for the Hot Climate of Pakistan

Cooling is a basic need for buildings in hot and sunny climates. In most countries the major source of cooling is electrical power based. During summer in hot climates there is an increase in electricity consumption due to cooling load. Pakistan is facing an electricity shortage crisis, which becomes worse in summer due to the high demand for cooling. The annual average insolation for Pakistan is 5-6 kWh/m2/day, reaching 6-8 kWh/m2/day in summer with sunshine of 10-13 hours a day, which gives suitable conditions for solar powered cooling system operation. TRNSYS software provides the possibility to simulate a complete solar air conditioning system integrated with a building. In this study, TRNSYS is used to model an absorption chiller operated by hot water from an evacuated tube collector. It is found that, with a hot water storage tank, a collector area of 12 m2 is sufficient to maintain the temperature in a room in a typical house at or below 26 °C during the cooling season.