Recent developments in solar assisted liquid desiccant evaporative cooling technology-A review

Cooling by solar energy is one of the key solutions to the global energy and environmental degradation issues. Solar liquid desiccant based on evaporative cooling is proposed as an eco-friendly alternative to the conventional vapour compression systems due to its huge untapped energy savings potential. In this paper, the recent works on solar assisted liquid desiccant cooling and its various applications combined with evaporative air-conditioning under different climates are reviewed and advantages the system may offer in terms of energy savings are underscored. A basic description of the principles of hybrid solar liquid desiccant with direct and indirect evaporative cooling is provided. Finally, solar regeneration methods and recent developments for the liquid desiccant air-conditioning system are presented.