Solar energy contribution to the energy demand for air conditioning system in an office building under tripoli climate conditions

Abstract

The feasibility of solar assisted air-conditioning in an office building under Tripoli weather conditions is investigated in this paper. A single-effect lithium bromide absorption cycle powered by means of flat-plate solar collectors was modeled in order to predict the potential of the solar energy share. The cooling load profile was generated by using a detailed hourly based program and typical meteorological year for Tripoli. System performance and solar energy fraction were calculated by varying two major parameters (collector's slope angle and collector area). The maximum solar fraction of 48% was obtained by means of 1400 m(2) of collector surface area. Analysis of results showed that, besides the collector surface area, the main factors affecting the solar fraction were the local weather conditions (intensity of incident solar radiation) and the time of day when the plant was operated.