Influence of power source type on energy effectiveness and environmental impact of cooling system with adsorption refrigerator

• Sustainability development in industrial energy systems was studied.
• Solar energy and waste heat for feeding of adsorption refrigerator were used.
• Primary energy savings for cooling systems were examined.
• Greenhouse gasses savings with renewable and non-renewable sources were estimated.

In the paper the method for energy and ecological evaluation of refrigeration system based on the adsorption machine is presented. The energy effectiveness is calculated on the level of the primary energy consumption. The method for ecological evaluation is also discussed. In the ecological evaluation the influence on greenhouse gasses (GHG) is taken into account and the ecological effects are expressed as equivalent CO2 emission. The authors compare the effectiveness of a refrigerator existing in an example Polish food factory supplied with heat from a boiler house fired with natural gas, a cogeneration system and solar collectors. In the last case the climatic conditions and detailed solar radiation data for Poland have been used. The authors demonstrated that the application of cogeneration or renewable energy sources (RES) for the cooling system can lead to energy savings and ecological benefits. To measure the energy effects the authors introduced the following indices: (PES) – Primary Energy Savings and (GHGS) – Greenhouse Gasses Savings. The results of the mentioned indices for different configuration of heating systems are calculated and presented in the paper.