Dynamic Analysis of Solar Heat Stimulated Residential Absorption Cooling with Integrated Thermal Wall for Space Heating

Decentralized trigeneration (solar heating-cooling) for residential and commercial applications is being researched and adapted extensively. The transition from traditional uni-directional grids to bidirectional smart grids has motivated energy engineers to develop novel decentralized architectures that fully exploit distributed generation technologies. Solar heat and light stimulated trigeneration system is modeled, simulated, and analyzed over one year for subtropical climate conditions of Melbourne, Australia. The architecture replaces an electrical compressor of traditional chillers with solar heat stimulated absorption chiller. A residential building is scheduled as per standard living trends of a family of 5 individuals. The goal was to maintain livable thermal conditions (PID controlled: 26°C) and meet essential electronic needs at best. A detailed thermal and electrical performance analysis is documented using parameters such as solar fraction, collector thermal efficiency, fractional non-purchased energy, and others. The architecture was designed to meet all energy loads, thermal and electrical, with minimal auxiliary or grid energy expenditure. The analysis revealed that this unique combination of active and passive solar electro-thermal technologies has the potential to improve the overall performance and save considerable space for residential build environments. The solar photovoltaics produced power in the range 200 kW to 519 kW, active solar evacuated tube collectors produced hot water in the range 60-80°C, and passive solar thermal wall recorded storing heated air up to 70°C in summers and 40°C in winters. Heated water passed through solar heat stimulated absorption chillers to produce chilled air in range 17-19°C. An excess of 1500 watts on some summer days was recorded while no excess was available in peak winters. Solar fraction and fractional non-purchased energy showed slightly better performance than the same systems without a thermal wall.