The performance study of a split type air conditioning system in the tropics, as affected by weather

• The overall results show that every 1 °C causes the COP and the total cooling capacity to be lowered by 2%.
• The SHF only slightly drops over a 60-years period for the existing air-conditioning system.
• The SLHX system can improve the COP of the existing AC systems by about 2%.
• The final findings can be used as an important building services guide for M&E engineers.

The study of the effect of weather variation on a split air cooled ducted blower (ADB) air conditioner in an office building located in Malaysia is conducted. In the present study, the influence of weather variation on the performance of the ADB air-conditioning (AC) systems in terms of total cooling capacity and sensible heat factor (SHF) are studied. In addition, the impact of a suction line heat exchanger (SLHX) system when subjected to the climate change is analyzed. Based on the result, it is found that every 1 °C increment in outdoor temperature will cause the COP and the total cooling capacity of the existing ADB system reduce by 2% while the SHF drops less than 2% from 2020 to 2080. Thus, the weather variation effect is a key factor in the AC systems’ initial design stage, which must be analyzed to preserve substantial of energy. Conversely, the SLHX system can improve the COP of the existing AC systems by about 2%, and the improvement is more significant when the outdoor ambient temperature is high. Besides, the SLHX system is strongly recommended for a machine cooling application since the SHF is higher by 4% compared to the normal AC system.