Energy assessment based on semi-dynamic modelling of a photovoltaic driven vapour compression chiller using phase change materials for cold energy storage

Abstract

Solar cooling systems are a promising solution for reducing the electrical consumption of conventional building cooling systems. Among various alternatives, photovoltaic driven vapour compression chillers are currently the most mature and economically feasible solar cooling technology. This study focuses on the semi-dynamic modelling of a vapour compression chiller coupled with a novel refrigerant-phase change material (PCM)-water heat exchanger (RPW-HEX) which replaces the conventional chiller's evaporator, allowing the efficient storage of the produced cooling energy. A custom-build lumped parameter model was developed in TRNSYS and was used to assess the performance of the proposed system on annual basis. Using as benchmark a conventional PV driven vapour compression chiller with electrical storage, the retrofitted hybrid storage system showed improved performance, limiting the cooling demand peaks and enhancing the solar fraction, especially for partial cooling loads. Last, a comparison of the PCM thermal energy storage to conventional batteries was carried out, leading to enhanced performance characteristics for the latter.

This study has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 768824. This work was partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España (RTI2018-093849-B-C31). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2017 SGR 1537). GREiA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme.