Solar hybrid cooling system for high-tech offices in subtropical climate – Radiant cooling by absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification

A solar hybrid cooling design is proposed for high cooling load demand in hot and humid climate. For the typical building cooling load, the system can handle the zone cooling load (mainly sensible) by radiant cooling with the chilled water from absorption refrigeration, while the ventilation load (largely latent) by desiccant dehumidification. This hybrid system utilizes solar energy for driving the absorption chiller and regenerating the desiccant wheel. Since a high chilled water temperature generated from the absorption chiller is not effective to handle the required latent load, desiccant dehumidification is therefore involved. It is an integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification, which are powered up by solar energy. In this study, the application potential of the solar hybrid cooling system was evaluated for the high-tech offices in the subtropical climate through dynamic simulation. The high-tech offices are featured with relatively high internal sensible heat gains due to the intensive office electric equipment. The key performance indicators included the solar fraction and the primary energy consumption. Comparative study was also carried out for the solar hybrid cooling system using two common types of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. It was found that the solar hybrid cooling system was technically feasible for the applications of relatively higher cooling load demand. The annual primary energy consumption of the solar hybrid cooling system was lower than that of the conventional vapour compression refrigeration system up to 36.5%. Between the two options of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams were more energy-efficient to work with the solar hybrid cooling system in the hot and humid climate. Harnessing solar energy for driving air-conditioning would help in reducing the carbon emission, hence alleviating the climate change.

► A solar hybrid cooling system is proposed for high-tech offices in subtropical climate.
► An integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification.
► Year-round cooling and energy performances were evaluated through dynamic simulation.
► Its annual primary energy consumption was lower than conventional system up to 36.5%.
► The passive chilled beams were more energy-efficient than the active chilled beams.