Development of a framework to study and enhance the feasibility of an absorption refrigeration system for space cooling in Malaysia

Abstract

The global rise in energy demands has become a prominent issue that requires urgent intervention. This is largely due to the surge in greenhouse gas emissions, which could result to a global warming predicament. Moreover, from research studies, it is observed that air-conditioning and refrigeration systems are one of the biggest contributors to this increase in energy needs. Therefore, alternative solutions to conventional air conditioning systems are required in combatting this issue. One being through the implementation of an absorption refrigeration system which utilizes GHG free working fluids (zero emission of greenhouse gases). However, this system is yet to be widely commercialized due to its poor technical and commercial feasibility. For instance, its low COP value of below one would instead require more electricity to be consumed through the grid, ultimately increasing the GHG output. Now, in this project, methods such as incorporating solar energy to improve the absorption chiller's efficiency and to reduce the energy intake from the grid would be explored in depth. Hence, the main output of this research is to create a framework to study and enhance the feasibility of an absorption refrigeration system in Malaysia. Besides that, to also compare absorption refrigeration from a commercial perspective against current available conventional cooling systems such as the ductless split (direct refrigerant) and air conditioning systems powered by solar electricity. An EXCEL program is used in modelling out the desirable framework due the software’s versatility. Next, the framework is applied on a case study of a commercial building (academic centre) to ensure and prove the credibility of the developed framework. Here, a few observations were made based on the study outcome, where, it is seen that by introducing and integrating solar energy to the absorption refrigeration system, the life cycle cost was reduced by half compared to a conventional split air conditioning system. Besides that, it was also concluded that the solar based absorption chiller would provide a higher internal rate of return of 9% and a reduction in GHG emission of 83.21%, compared to a solar PV powered air conditioner with values of 6% and 54.64% respectively for a study period of 20 years.