Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

The performance analysis of a LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration

system
Zhang Heng*, 1, Chen Feipeng 1, Liu Yang, Chen Haiping, Liang Kai, Yang Boran
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents a investigation on the performance analysis of a novel low-concentrating photo-
Received 10 October 2018 voltaic/thermal (LCPV/T) assisted absorption refrigeration system. In this hybrid system, the lithium
Received in revised form bromide absorption chiller is adopted to make use of the hot water from the LCPV/T modules for energy
27 May 2019
saving and higher system efficiency. A detailed mathematical model was proposed for analyzing quan-
Accepted 30 May 2019
titatively the performance of the novel LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration system. Specific exper-
Available online 1 June 2019
iments were conducted to analyze the influence of primary parameters on the refrigeration performance
of the system, including inlet hot water temperature, cooling water flow and refrigerant water flow. The
Keywords:
LCPV/T
results show that the Coefficient of performance of the refrigeration system (COPx) and the refrigeration
Absorption refrigeration capacity of the hybrid system was correlated with the inlet temperature, cooling water flow, and
Refrigerating capacity refrigerant water flow. It is concluded that the average refrigerating capacity of the system is 7.20 kW, the
Hybrid system average COPX is 0.52 and the average outlet cooling water temperature of the LiBr absorption chiller is
15
C.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The global energy system is facing a dual challenge to provide
more energy to support economic growth while reducing the
emissions of pollutants transition to low-carbon future [1]. How-
ever, the high consumption of high-grade fossil energy cannot meet
the requirement of energy saving but has caused the greenhouse
effect and air pollution [2,3]. Thereby, in recent decades, renewable
energy has caused intensively attention to provide more energy
resources as an alternative of fossil fuels. Especially, many re-
searches have pay attention to make use of solar energy more
efficiently through different forms, including photovoltaic and
photothermal, due to its cleanness, abundance and technology
maturity.
As we all known, a photovoltaic module converts 4e17% of the
incoming solar radiation into electricity, while more than 50% of
the incident solar energy is converted to heat [4]. Considering this
problem, PV/thermal (PV/T) system had been designed to use both
the heat and electric energy simultaneously. By cooling the solar
cells with water or other fluid, the photoelectric conversion
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhangchongheng@hotmail.com (Z. Heng).
1 energy cooling systems in Hong Kong, which shows that the
These authors contributed equally to this study and shared first authorship.
efficiency can be improved in a long time. Thus, many PV/T hybrid
system have been proposed to use the water with high temperature
(e.g. PV/T-solar still system [5,6], PV/T-heat pump system [7,8], PV/
T-thermoelectric generator (TEG) system [9] and PV/T-refrigeration
system [10e18]). Generally speaking, the cooling demand is
consistent with the solar radiation intensity which always lead to
the growth of the electric energy demand in summer. Thus, heat-
driven refrigeration systems can be a useful way to use the hot
water and reduce the power load at the same time.
Compared to conventional compression refrigeration which
causes the greenhouse effect and destroy the ozone layer, absorp-
tion refrigeration technology has been widely studied because of its
low energy consumption and less damage to the environment.
Because absorption chiller has an advantage that it can be driven by
low grade energy such as solar energy and industrial waste heat. In
this regard, solar assisted absorption cooling systems (or absorp-
tion chillers) may play an essential role in achieving the targeted
values because they have no mechanical compressors while they
can utilize residual heat or solar power as an energy resource [11].
In the literature, many studies have been investigated to show
that lithium bromide solution is a better choice as a working me-
dium for solar absorption air-conditioning due to its environmen-
tally friendly characteristics [12,13]. Fong et al. studied several solar

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.128
0960-1481/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864 1853

Nomenclature h16 specific enthalpy of the cryogen steam of the

evaporator outlet, [kJ/kg]
Ac area of the PV cells, [m2] Im current of PV cells, [A]
C geometric concentration ratio of the CPC Is short circuit current, [A]
cc specific heat at constant pressure of PV cells, [J/ ki thermal conductivity of the insulating layer, [W/
(kg$K)] (m$K)]
cg specific heat at constant pressure of glass, [J/(kg$K)] la length of the glass channel, [m]
cph specific heat at constant pressure of hot water, [J/ lb width of the glass channel, [m]
(kg$K)] lc height of the glass channel, [m]
cpm specific heat at constant pressure of chilled water, [J/ Pm electrical power, [W]
(kg$K)] Q solar energy received by LCPV/T, [W]
cpq specific heat at constant pressure of cooling water, [J/ Qabs heat load of the absorber, [kW]
(kg$K)] Qcon heat load of the condenser, [kW]
cw specific heat at constant pressure of water in the glass Qcon0 fitted value of cooling capacity, [kW]
channel of LCPV/T, [J/(kg$K)] Qeva heat load of the evaporator, [kW]
COPH COP of high temperature water source heat pump Qex heat load of the exchanger, [kW]
COPX COP of absorption refrigeration system Qgen heat load of the generator, [kW]
COPX0 fitted value of COP of the absorption refrigeration qgg solar radiative energy absorbed by glass cover, [W]
system qmw cooling water flow rate, [kg/s]
D10 mass flow of the dilute solution from the absorber Qr energy loss of LCPV/T, [W]
outlet to the generator inlet, [kg/s] Qt effective heat production of LCPV/T, [W]
D11 mass flow of the concentrated solution from the T1 absorber inlet temperature of cooling water, [K]
generator outlet to the absorber inlet, [kg/s] T2 absorber outlet temperature of cooling water, [K]
Da mass flow of the concentrated solution, [kg/s] T3 condenser outlet temperature of cooling water, [K]
Dh mass flow of hot water, [kg/s] T4 inlet temperature of hot water, [K]
Dm mass flow of chilled water, [kg/s] T5 outlet temperature of hot water, [K]
Dq mass flow of cooling water, [kg/s] T6 inlet temperature of chilled water, [K]
Dr mass flow of the dilute solution, [kg/s] T7 outlet temperature of chilled water, [K]
Ds mass flow of the refrigerants, [kg/s] Ta ambient temperature, [K]
Ehp input electric power of the high temperature water Tc temperature of PV cells, [K]
source heat pump, [W] Tgb temperature of the glass backplane, [K]
EPV electric power generated by LCPV/T, [W] Tgf temperature of the glass channel, [K]
FF filling factor Tgc temperature of the glass cover, [K]
G solar radiation intensity, [W/m2] th temperature of hot water, [
C]
hgc,c heat transfer coefficient of the glass cover and solar Ts the sky blackbody temperature, [K]
cells, [W/(m2$K)] Tw average temperature of cooling water, [K]
hgc,s heat transfer coefficient of the glass cover and sky, Tw1 inlet temperature of cooling water, [K]
[W/(m2$K)] Tw2 outlet temperature of cooling water, [K]
hgc,a heat transfer coefficient of the glass cover and U0 open circuit voltage, [V]
environment, [W/(m2$K)] Um Voltage of PV cells, [V]
hgb,c heat transfer coefficient of the glass balckplane and
environment, [W/(m2$K)] Greek letters
hgb,w heat transfer coefficient of the glass backpanel and a circulation ratio
cooling water, [W/(m2$K)] b electrical efficiency attenuation coefficient (K1)
hgf,w heat transfer coefficient of the glass channel and di thickness of the insulating layer, [m]
cooling water, [W/(m2$K)] Dt' fitted value of the chilled water inlet and outlet
hgf,a heat transfer coefficient of the glass channel and temperature difference, [
C]
environment, [W/(m2$K)] Dx scope of bleed
hi,a heat transfer coefficient of the insulating layer and hPT thermal efficiency of the LCPV/T system
environment, [W/(m2$K)] hPV electrical efficiency of the LCPV/T system
h8 specific enthalpy of the dilute solution of the hr silicon cells reference electrical efficiency
absorber outlet, [kJ/kg] xa concentration of the concentrated solution from the
h9 specific enthalpy of the dilute solution of exchanger generator outlet to the absorber inlet
inlet, [kJ/kg] xr concentration of the dilute solution from the
h10 specific enthalpy of the dilute solution of the absorber outlet to the generator inlet
generator inlet, [kJ/kg] rc density of PV cells, kg/m3
h11 specific enthalpy of the concentrated solution of the rg density of glass, kg/m3
generator outlet, [kJ/kg] rw density of cooling water, kg/m3
h12 specific enthalpy of the concentrated solution of the
absorber inlet, [kJ/kg] Abbreviations
h13 specific enthalpy of the refrigerants of generator COP coefficient of performance
outlet, [kJ/kg] CPC compound parabolic concentrator
h14 specific enthalpy of the cryogen water of the EVA ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer
condenser outlet, [kJ/kg] MPPT maximum power point tracking
h15 specific enthalpy of the cryogen water of the LCPV/T low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal
evaporator inlet, [kJ/kg]
1854 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864
electricity generated by photovoltaic system driven tradition air
conditioning is the most economical way in several ways [14].
Praene et al. [15] investigated a solar-driven 30 KW Libr/H2O single-
effect absorption cooling system which shows the optimization of
the solar loop can produce 30 KW. According to the first test on the
classroom, 20 KW is enough to reach thermal comfortable condi-
tions. Agyenim et al. [16] developed a domestic-scale prototype
experimental solar cooling system tested during the summer and
autumn months in Cardiff University, UK, which is consist of a
12 m2 vacuum tube solar collector, a 4.5 KW LiBr/H2O absorption
chiller a 1000 L cold storage tank and a 6 KW fan coil. According to
the analysis of the measurement of some primary parameters, such
as daily radiation, ambient temperature, inlet and outlet fluid
temperatures, mass flows rates and electrical consumption,
research shows the thermal and electrical COP are 0.58 and 3.6.
respectively. Experimental results prove the feasibility of the new
concept of cold store and demonstrate the potential use in cooling
domestic scale buildings.
Mammoli et al. [17] presented a solar-assisted HVAC system to
cool the education building in cooling climate. The system uses
both legacy flat arrays of solar collectors (FPA) and modern vacuum
tube arrays (VTA), whose absorber areas are 124 m2 and 108 m2
respectively. A water-glycol mixture was pumped through the ar-
rays and a heat exchanger, which was connected to a hot water
storage tank with approximately 34 m2 useful volume. The cold
water produced by a Yazaki single effect LiBr/H2O water-fired
chiller can be stored in seven 50 m2 cold water tanks or directly
go straight to the AHU cooling coils. Experimental results show that
the solar cooling system can supply approximately 18% total cooling
load in the peak of summer, whose percentage could be increased
to 36% by tuning the air handler operation and improving the
insulation in the storage tank. In the shoulder seasons, the system
can supply 100% cooling load. Hidalgo et al. [18] carried out a
experimental research on solar absorption cooling based on an on-
Campus field of 50 m2 flat plate solar collectors driving a single-
effect commercial LiBr/H2O absorption machine through a hot-
water storage tank. Results indicated the absorption cooling ma-
chine cooling power reaches 6e10 KW, with a generator driving
power input of 10e15 KW, achieving a mean cooling period of 6.5 h
of complete solar autonomy on a seasonal average day.
However, there are still some tough problems need to be solved
in this research field, especially in small cooling capacity machines
(about 5e10 KW) which are suitable for the use of residents [4].
Consequently, considering a lack of experimental research on the
influence of temperature and flow rate of the heat source water,
flow rate of cooling water flow rate of the refrigerant water on the
cooling capacity, COP and operating characteristics of small lithium
bromide absorption refrigeration unit, a LCPV/T assisted absorption
refrigeration system was proposed to investigate these interesting
topics in this paper. Different with previous research, the LCPV/T
have a higher light concentration ratio than traditional PV/T mod-
ules and also equipped with a double axis tracking system to make
sure the panels are facing the sun, which can produce a higher
temperature outlet water leading to better refrigeration perfor-
mance. Besides, the current LCPV/T system was designed and
proved to have excellent performance in papers [19e22], such as a
novel compound parabolic concentrator with better light collection
performance and glass channel with better heat transfer perfor-
mance, which can achieve higher hybrid system efficiency com-
bined with small cooling capacity machines. The system operated
in July 2017 in Beijig, China, with date recorded for the analysis of
the performance later. More detailed results will be discussed in the
next sections.
2. LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration system
The LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration hybrid system
mainly consists of three parts: the LCPV/T system, single effect
lithium bromide absorption refrigeration system, and air-
conditioning terminal device. During operation, the LCPV/T sys-
tem converts solar energy into electrical energy and thermal en-
ergy. Electrical energy can be stored in the battery and can also be
converted to alternating current by inverters. Thermal energy is
stored in the heat storage water tank in the form of hot water. The
hot water above 80
C is the heat source of the lithium bromide
absorption refrigeration system. After being cooled in the lithium
bromide absorption chiller, chilled water flows into the air condi-
tioning terminal device and exchanges heat with indoor air to cool
the indoor environment.
Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show the real picture and the schematic diagram
of the LCPV/T system. The experiments were carried out on the roof
area of the Main building F of North China Electric Power University
in Beijing, China (latitude 40。N; longitude 116。E). When the sys-
tem operates, solar radiation is focused on the PV solar panel by
CPC and is converted to electric energy by the PV cells. The electric
energy is stored in the battery or is converted to alternating current
by MPPT. The thermal energy of PV cells can be absorbed by the
cooling water in the glass channel. After absorbing heat, the water
flows into the heat storage water tank to store thermal energy.
The schematic diagram of lithium bromide absorption refriger-
ation system is shown in Fig. 3, which consists of the lithium bro-
mide absorption chiller, waterway part, measuring part, and
controlling part. Furthermore, the waterway consists of the
following three cycles: hot water cycle, cooling water cycle, and
chilled water cycle. When the lithium bromide absorption refrig-
eration system operates, it is isolated from the LCPV/T system and
the high temperature water source heat pump system. The heat
required for the heat water of refrigeration system is provided by
electric heater in the tank. During operation, the lithium bromide
absorption refrigeration system is used as a part of the LCPV/T
assisted absorption refrigeration system, and it is connected in
series with the LCPV/T system and the high temperature water heat
pump system. The heat required for the hot water of the refriger-
ation system is mainly provided by the LCPV/T system and the high
temperature water heat pump system. The electric heater in the
Fig. 1. A picture of the LCPV/T system.
 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864 1855

Fig. 2. The schematic diagram of the LCPV/T system.

Fig. 3. The schematic diagram of the lithium bromide absorption refrigeration system.

water tank can be used as an auxiliary heat source.
The main equipment of lithium bromide absorption refrigera-
tion system includes a cooling tower, three variable frequency
pumps, a hot water tank (including four electric heaters), and a few
pipelines, valves, filters. The measuring and controlling system
include a control machine, six armored thermocouples, six pressure
gages, three turbine flowmeters, and three inverters. The lithium
bromide absorption chiller, cooling tower, hot water tank, and
control panel are shown in Figs. 4e7 respectively. The relevant
design parameters of each device in the refrigeration system are
shown in Table 1, where high-precision measurement instrument
has been adopted to ensure the validity of the data in experiments.
3. Mathematical model
3.1. Mathematical model for the PV/T module
The longitudinal section of the PV/T module is shown in Fig. 8.
The components of the PV/T module in the top to the bottom order
include glass cover, EVA, PV cells, EVA, glass backplane, glass
channel, insulating layer, and aluminum frame. As shown in Fig. 8,
we determine the energy transfer process. First, only a small frac-
tion of the incoming light is reflected or converted into thermal
energy on the glass cover while most of it is converted into electric
and thermal energy by the PV cells. The thermal energy in the PV
cells is absorbed by the glass cover and the glass backplane. Sub-
sequently, the energy absorbed by the glass cover is conveyed to the
environment by heat convection while that absorbed by the glass
backplane is conveyed to the working fluid. The insulating layer are
adopted to reduce unnecessary heat loss.
Based on the law of conservation of energy [20], we consider the
components of the PV/T module in the study, and the energy
transfer mathematical model is as follows:Q.
(1) PV/T module energy balance equation:
1856 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864

Fig. 4. Lithium bromide absorption chiller.

Fig. 6. Hot water tank.

Fig. 5. Cooling tower.

Q ¼ Ql þ Qt þ Pm (1)

Fig. 7. Control panel.

(2) The energy balance equation of the glass cover:

dTgc


cg rg ¼ qgc ðtÞ þ hgc;c Tc  Tgc  hgc;s Tgc  Ts (4) The energy balance equation of the glass backplane:
dt


 hgc;a Tgc  Ta (2)

(3) The energy balance equation of the PV cells:

dTgb    
dTc  
rg cg ¼ hgb;c Tc  Tgb  hgb;w Tgb  Tw (4)
dt
cc rc ¼ qc ðtÞ  pe  hgb;c Tc  Tgb  hgc;c Tc  Tgc (3)
dt
The expression for Tw is as follows:
 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864 1857

Table 1
Parameters of the devices in the refrigeration system.

Main component Parameter name Value/Range Unit/Accuracy

Absorption lithium bromide chiller Model XZ-10 KW

Cooling capacity 10 KW
Dimensions 1050  650  1610 mm


Outlet temperature of chilled water 7 C


Inlet temperature of cooling water 32 C


Inlet temperature of hot water 90 C
Mass flow of chilled water 2 kg/h
Mass flow of cooling water 5 kg/h
Mass flow of hot water 3 kg/h
Fuselage mass about 600 kg
Fuselage operation mass about 700 kg
Cooling tower Model BL-10
Maximum mass flow 10 kg/h


Temperature drop 5 C
Fan power 0.25 kW
Fan speed 970 r/min
Flowmeters of the chilled water cycle BEGY-15(LW)/G2/10/S/S/E/N 0.6e2.5 m3/h 1%
Flowmeters of the cooling water cycle BEGY-20(LW)/G2/10/S/S/E/N 0.8e6 m3/h 1%
Flowmeters of the hot water cycle BEGY-15(LW)/G2/10/S/S/E/N 0.6e4 m3/h 1%
Thermometer DWB-PT100 0e100
C ±0.4%

Fig. 8. Longitudinal section of the PV/T module.

(7) The expression for the electric efficiency hPV as follows:

T þ Tw2
Tw ¼ w1 (5)
2
Pm Um Im Uo Is FF
hpv ¼ ¼ ¼ (9)
CGAc CGAc CGAc
(5) The energy balance equation of the cooling water is as
follows:
FF denotes the filling factor that indicates the ratio of the
dTw     maximum output power of PV cells to the theoretical maximum
rw lc cw ¼ hgb;w Tw  Tgb  hgf ;w Tw  Tgf power. The expression for FF is as follows:
dt
qmw cw
 ðTw2  Tw1 Þ (6)
la lb Um Im
FF ¼ (10)
Uo Is

(6) The energy balance equation of the glass channel is as

follows: The empirical formula for hPV is as follows [22,23]:

dTgf    
rg cg ¼ hgf ;w Tgf  Tw  hgf ;a Tgf  Ta (7) hpv ¼ hr ½1  bðTc  273:15  25Þ (11)
dt

The expression for hgf,a is shown as follows: (7) The expression for thermal efficiency is as follows:

1
hgf ;a ¼ d (8) cw qmw ðTw2  Tw1 Þ
i
þ 1 hpt ¼ (12)
k i h i;a CGAc
1858 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864
3.2. Mathematical model for the absorption refrigeration system
The diagram of the absorption refrigeration system is shown in
Fig. 9. The following assumptions are adopted to simplify
calculations:
a. The system is in stable operation and the parameters are
constant.
b. The pressure loss and heat loss caused by the flow of working
fluid along the pipeline are ignored.
c. The heat exchange process between the system and the
external atmosphere is ignored.
d. The heat capacity and pump power of system internal devices
are ignored.
e. It is considered that the generator pressure equals the
condensation pressure, and the absorption pressure equals the
evaporation pressure.
f. It is considered that the generator outlet concentrated solu-
tion, absorber outlet dilute solution, condenser outlet cryogen
water, and evaporator outlet cryogen steam are in the saturation
station.
Based on the above assumptions, the heat transfer model for the
absorption refrigeration system is established.
(1) Absorption refrigeration system energy balance equation is
as follows:
Qabs þ Qcon ¼ Qgen þ Qeva
(2) We consider the evaporator in the study:
In the evaporator, the low-temperature and low-pressure
cryogen water absorbs heat through vaporization to cool
the chilled water. Subsequently, the cryogen steam is sucked
into the absorber, and the chilled water flows into the air
conditioning terminal to cool the target area. Thus, the
evaporator inlet working fluid corresponds to cryogen water,
and the outlet working fluid corresponds to cryogen steam.
The energy balance equation of the evaporator is as
follows:
Qeva ¼ cpm Dm ðT6  T7 Þ ¼ Ds ðh16  h15 Þ
(3) We consider the generator in the study:
In the generator, the heat water heats the lithium bromide
Fig. 9. The schematic diagram of the absorption refrigeration system.
dilute solution. The water in the dilute solution is continu-
ously vaporized and detached from the generator to become
cryogen steam. Thus, the generator inlet working fluid is
lithium bromide dilute solution and the outlet working fluids
correspond to lithium bromide concentrated solution and
cryogen steam.
The energy balance equation of the generator is as follows:
Qgen ¼ cph Dh ðT4  T5 Þ ¼ D11 h11 þ Ds h13  D10 h10 (15)
D10 ¼ D11 þ Ds (16)
D10 xr ¼ D11 xa (17)
(4) We consider the absorber in the study:
In the absorber, the lithium bromide concentrated solution
absorbs cryogen steam and releases heat. The cooling water
flows into the absorber, removes the heat generated in the
absorber, and flows out of the absorber. Thus, the absorber
inlet working fluids correspond to lithium bromide concen-
trated solution and cryogen steam and the outlet working
fluid corresponds to lithium bromide dilute solution.
The energy balance equation of the absorber is as follows:
Qabs ¼ cpq Dq ðT1  T2 Þ ¼ Dr h8  Da h12  Ds h16 (18)
(13)
Dr ¼ Da þ Ds (19)
Dr xr ¼ Da xa (20)
(5) We consider the condenser in the study:
In the condenser, the cryogen steam from the generator
condenses and releases heat. The cooling water from the
absorber enters the condenser, removes the heat generated
in the condenser, and flows out of the condenser. Thus, the
condenser inlet working fluid corresponds to the cryogen
steam and the outlet working fluid corresponds to cryogen
water.
(14)
The energy balance equation of the condenser is as
follows:
Qcon ¼ cpq Dq ðT2  T3 Þ ¼ D14 h14  Ds h13 (21)
(6) We consider the heat exchanger in the study:
The heat exchanger does not exchange energy or materials
with external working fluids. In the heat exchanger, the
working fluids correspond to the high temperature lithium
bromide concentrated solution and low temperature lithium
bromide dilute solution.
The energy balance equation of the heat exchanger is as
follows:
Qex ¼ D9 h9  D10 h10 ¼ D12 h12  D11 h11 (22)
(7) Refrigeration system performance evaluation index
The COPX, scope of bleed, and circulation ratio are impor-
tant indexes to evaluate the performance of the refrigeration
system. The COPX is the ratio of system cooling capacity to
heat consumption. The scope of bleed is the concentration
difference between concentrated solution and dilute solu-
tion concentration. The circulation ratio is the ratio of
 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864
concentrated solution concentration to scope of bleed. The
expression for COPX, scope of bleed, and circulation ratio are
as follows:
Qeva cpm Dm ðT6  T7 Þ
COPX ¼ ¼ (23)
Qgen cph Dh ðT4  T5 Þ
Dx ¼ xa  xr (24)
xa
a¼ (25)
xa  xr
3.3. LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration system performance
evaluation index
The expression of coefficient of performance (COP) of the LCPV/T
assisted absorption refrigeration hybrid system can be fined as
follows:
Qeva þ EPV hpt COPH COPX þ hpv ðCOPH  1Þ
COP ¼ ¼ (26)
Q þ Ehp hpt þ COPH  1
4. Experimental results and discussion
4.1. Influence of hot water temperature on system performance
In the experiments, the flow rate of chilled water is 2 m3/h, the
flow rate of cooling water is 5 m3/h, and the flow rate of hot water is
3 m3/h. As shown in Fig. 10, the system cooling capacity increases
with the increasing of the heat water temperature although the
amplitude of the increase is increasingly gentle.
When the hot water temperature increases, the temperature of
the lithium bromide dilute solution increases, the partial pressure
of steam on the solution surface increases, and increasing amount
of cryogen steam liquefies in the condenser. Simultaneously, the
concentration of the concentrated solution at the generator outlet
Fig. 10. The variations of the refrigeration capacity with the heat water temperature.
1859
increases, the scope of bleed of the solution increases, the
condensing temperature increases, the evaporation temperature
decreases, and the cooling capacity increases. There are two rea-
sons for the increase in the system cooling capacity. First, the in-
crease in the scope of bleed of the solution implies an increase in
the circulation volume of refrigerants. Thus, more refrigerants are
vaporized in the evaporator each time a cycle is completed.
Conversely, the decrease in the evaporation temperature increases
the temperature difference between the cryogen water and the
chilled water increase, and thus the process of heat transfer in the
evaporator is enhanced, and the system cooling capacity increases.
When the hot water temperature increases, both the chilled
water inlet and outlet temperature decrease. The decrease in chil-
led water temperature decreases the heat transfer temperature
difference and weakens the process of heat transfer in the evapo-
rator. Hence, when the hot water temperature increases, the
amplitude of the increase in system cooling capacity gradually
becomes gentle.
Under the stable operation condition, the system cooling ca-
pacity is positively correlated with the hot water temperature. An
increase in the hot water temperature also increases the cooling
capacity. When compared with the conventional absorption
refrigeration system, the LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration
system exhibits better season matching. Stronger solar radiation
implies higher ambient temperature and higher cooling load re-
quirements, and thus the LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration
system precisely achieves a higher hot water temperature when
individuals display higher cold load requirements.
Based on experimental data, the relationship between system
cooling capacity and hot water temperature is fitted. The fitting
function is shown in equation (27). As shown in equation (27), the
system cooling capacity at a certain hot water temperature is
calculated as follows:
Q 0con ¼  0:00589t 2h þ 1:16204th  47:69271 (27)
A few data are selected to verify the accuracy of the fitting
function. The verification method is as follows:
In the original data, all data are collected in the temperature
range of 80.5 ± 0.1
C, 82.5 ± 0.1
C, 84.5 ± 0.1
C, 86.5 ± 0.1
C,
88.5 ± 0.1
C, 90.5 ± 0.1
C, 92.5 ± 0.1
C, and 94.5 ± 0.1
C. Based on
the data, the calculated values of the system cooling capacity are
obtained when the hot water temperatures are 80.5
C, 82.5
C,
84.5
C, 86.5
C, 88.5
C, 90.5
C, 92.5
C, and 94.5
C.
The mean error indicates the absolute value of the calculated
value deviating from the measured value, and the mean ratio in-
dicates the proportion of the calculated value deviating from the
measured value. As shown in Table 2, mean error is 0.088, and
mean ratio is 0.95%, and thus the fitting function error is acceptable.
Based on the fitting function, the system cooling capacity exhibits
an approximately quadratic function relationship with the hot
water temperature. The system cooling capacity increases when
the hot water temperature increases although the amplitude of the
increase is increasingly gentle.
As shown in Fig. 11, COPX increases when the hot water tem-
perature increases although the amplitude of the increase is
increasingly gentle. When the temperature of the hot water in-
creases, the temperature difference between the hot water and the
dilute solution increases, and the process of heat transfer is
enhanced. Therefore, the system heat consumption increases when
the hot water temperature increases. The COPX is determined by
the cooling capacity and the heat consumption. Both the cooling
capacity and the heat consumption increase when the hot water
temperature increases, and thus it is difficult to determine the
relationship between COPX and the hot water temperature. Based
1860 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864

Table 2
Accuracy of the fitting function of system cooling capacity and heat water temperature.

Temperature/
C Calculated value/kW Measured value/kW Error value/kW Mean error Mean ratio

80.5 7.683 7.811 0.128 0.088 0.0095

82.5 8.087 8.104 0.017
84.5 8.446 8.533 0.089
86.5 8.753 8.603 0.15
88.5 9.016 9.122 0.106
90.5 9.23 9.098 0.067
92.5 9.4 9.531 0.131
94.5 9.521 9.539 0.018

when the hot water temperature increases although the amplitude

of the increase is increasingly gentle.
As shown in Fig. 12, the chilled water inlet and outlet temper-
ature decreases when the hot water temperature increases,
although the inlet and outlet temperature drops are different.
Based on the experimental results, when the hot water tempera-
ture is 80
C, the chilled water inlet temperature is 13.27
C while
the outlet temperature is 10.3
C. When the hot water temperature
is 90
C, the chilled water inlet temperature is 12.69
C while the
outlet temperature is 8.69
C. When the water temperature is 95
C,
the chilled inlet temperature is 12.56
C while the outlet temper-
ature is 8.3
C. It is observed that the effect of hot water tempera-
ture on the chilled water outlet temperature significantly exceeds
that on the chilled water inlet temperature.
As shown in Fig. 13, the temperature difference between the
inlet and outlet of the chilled water increases when the hot water
temperature increases. Based on the experimental results, when

Fig. 11. The variations of the COPx with the heat water temperature.

on the experimental results, under the design condition, the system

cooling capacity increases by 1.71 kW, and the system heat con-
sumption increases by 1.37 kW when the hot water temperature
increases from 80
C to 95
C. The increase in the cooling capacity
exceeds the increase in the heat consumption, and thus the COPX
increases when the hot water temperature increases.
Based on experimental data, the relationship between COPX and
hot water temperature is fitted. The fitting function is shown in
equation (28). As shown in equation (28), the COPX at a certain hot
water temperature is calculated as follows:

COP 0X ¼  1:46008e4 t 2h þ 0:03114th  1:07299 (28)

As shown in Table 3, the mean error is 0.06525 and mean ratio is

1.19%, and thus the fitting function error is acceptable. Based on the
fitting function, COPX exhibits an approximate quadratic function
relationship with the hot water temperature. The COPX increases
Fig. 12. The variations of the temperature of inlet and outlet chilled water with the
heat water temperature.
Table 3
Accuracy of fitting function of COPX and heat water temperature.

Temperature/
C Calculated value/kW Measured value/kW Error value/kW Mean error Mean ratio

80.5 0.4876 0.4922 0.0046 0.006525 0.0119

82.5 0.5023 0.5081 0.0058
84.5 0.5158 0.5224 0.0066
86.5 0.5282 0.5176 0.0106
88.5 0.5393 0.5323 0.007
90.5 0.5493 0.5447 0.0046
92.5 0.5582 0.5661 0.0079
94.5 0.5659 0.571 0.0051
 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864
Fig. 13. The variations of the temperature difference between inlet and outlet water
with the heat water temperature.
the hot water temperature is 80
C, the temperature difference is
3.78
C. When the hot water temperature is 90
C, the temperature
difference is 3.89
C. When the water temperature is 95
C, the
temperature difference is 4.10
C. It is observed that the effect of hot
water temperature on the chilled water outlet temperature signif-
icantly exceeds that on the chilled water inlet temperature. Based
on experimental data, the relationship between the temperature
difference and hot water temperature is fitted. The fitting function
is shown in equation (29) as follows:
Dt 0 ¼  0:00198t 2h þ 0:40095th  16:15549
As shown in Table 4, the mean error is 0.0416 and the mean ratio
is 1.063%, and thus the fitting function error is acceptable. Based on
the fitting function, the temperature difference exhibits an
approximately quadratic function relationship with the hot water
temperature. The temperature difference increases when the hot
water temperature increases although the amplitude of the in-
crease is increasingly gentle.
4.2. The influence of cooling water flow rate on system performance
Cooling water acts as a cooling medium for the absorber and the
condenser, that significantly influences the cooling performance of
the system. In the lithium bromide absorption refrigeration system,
the cooling water is pumped into the lithium bromide absorption
chiller and flows through the absorber and the condenser and
removes the heat of absorption in the absorber and the heat of
condensation in the condenser. Subsequently, the temperature of
Table 4
Accuracy of the fitting function of the temperature difference between the inlet and
outlet of the chilled water and heat water temperature.
Temperature/
C Calculated value/kW
80.5 3.29
82.5 3.447
84.5 3.587
86.5 3.712
88.5 3.821
90.5 3.914
92.5 3.991
94.5 4.052
1861
the cooling water at the outlet of the lithium bromide absorption
chiller increases. Finally, the cooling water is sent to the cooling
tower. Under ideal conditions, the heat absorbed from the lithium
bromide absorption chiller equals the heat released in the cooling
tower, the temperature and flow rate of cooling water in the lithium
bromide absorption chiller are kept constant. In the experiments,
the flow rate of chilled water and hot water are 2 m3/h and 3 m3/h,
respectively.
As shown in Figs. 14 and 15, it is observed that the cooling ca-
pacity and COPX increase with the increase in the cooling water
flow rate. This is because the increase in the cooling water flow rate
decreases the concentration of the dilute solution and the solution
circulation ratio while the concentration of the concentrated so-
lution and the scope of bleed increase.
When the cooling water flow rate increases, the temperature of
cooling water at the outlet of absorber and condenser decreases,
and the average temperature in the absorber and the condenser
also decreases. Thus, the temperature difference between the
absorber and the condenser increases and the process of heat
transfer is enhanced. Increasing amounts of heat are removed from
absorber and condenser by the cooling water.
In the absorber, a decrease in the cooling water temperature
decreases the spray solution temperature, partial pressure of steam
on the surface of the solution, and concentration of dilute solution
at the outlet of the absorber decrease while it increases the pres-
sure difference between the steam in the evaporator and the steam
on the surface of the spray solution and absorption capacity of the
absorber. In the condenser, a decrease in the cooling water tem-
perature decreases the condensation temperature and
(29)
Fig. 14. Influence of hot water temperature on the system cooling capacity at different
cooling water flows.
Measured value/kW Error value/kW Mean error Mean ratio
3.314 0.024
3.441 0.024
3.603 0.016
3.688 0.044 0.0416 0.01063
3.842 0.021
3.922 0.068
3.983 0.092
4.066 0.044
1862 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864
Fig. 15. Influence of hot water temperature on COPX at different cooling water flows.
condensation pressure and increases the pressure difference be-
tween the steam on the surface of the dilute solution in the
generator and the steam in the condenser and the concentration of
concentrated solution at the outlet of the generator.
4.3. The influence of chilled water flow rate on system performance
When the system works, first the chilled water flows out of the
lithium bromide absorption chiller and subsequently it is pumped
to the air conditioning terminal device in which the chilled water
exchanges heat with the indoor environment, finally the chilled
water returns to the lithium bromide absorption chiller. Under ideal
conditions, the cooling capacity of the absorption refrigeration
system equals the indoor refrigeration consumption and the tem-
perature and flow rate of chilled water in the lithium bromide
absorption chiller and in the air conditioning terminal device are
kept constant. In the experiments, the flow rate of cooling water
Fig. 16. Influence of hot water temperature on the refrigeration capacity at different
chilled water flows.
and hot water are 5 m3/h and 3 m3/h, respectively.
As shown in Figs. 16 and 17, it is observed that the cooling ca-
pacity and COPX increase with increases in the chilled water flow
rate. This is because the increase in the chilled water flow rate
decreases the concentration of the dilute solution and the solution
circulation ratio and increases the chilled water temperature at the
outlet of the lithium bromide absorption chiller, evaporation tem-
perature and pressure, concentration of the concentrated solution,
and scope of bleed.
4.4. Performance of the LCPV/T assisted absorption refrigeration
system
The experiments were conducted in July 2017 on the roof of
an 8-floor building in North China Electric Power University. The
hourly variations in cooling water temperature at inlet and
outlet of the PV/T glass channel are shown in Fig. 18. In the
experiments, the flow rate of cooling water is 100 L/h. Based on
results, when the average tracking radiation intensity is
948.96 W/m2, the average cooling water inlet temperature of the
glass channel is 36.6
C, and the average cooling water outlet
temperature is 52.9
C. When the radiation intensity decreases,
the cooling water outlet temperature of the glass channel de-
creases while the cooling water inlet temperature remains
essentially unchanged.
The hourly variations in electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency,
and overall efficiency are shown in Fig. 19. The experimental
platform adopts dual-axis tracking that is more efficient in the use
of solar energy. The calculation of the efficiency is based on
tracking radiation intensity. As shown in Fig. 19, the thermal ef-
ficiency and the overall efficiency increase with increases in solar
radiation intensity while the electrical efficiency is almost unaf-
fected by the solar radiation intensity. The average electrical and
thermal efficiency are 11.4% and 48.3%, respectively; and the
highest thermal and overall efficiency are 55.2% and 64.0%,
respectively.
The hourly variations in system cooling capacity and COPX are
shown in Fig. 20. The cooling capacity varies between 6.98 and
7.36 kW. The COPX varies between 0.48 and 0.55. The actual average
cooling capacity of the system is 7.20 kW, and the average COPX is
0.52.
Fig. 17. Influence of hot water temperature on COPX at different chilled water flows.
 Z. Heng et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1852e1864 1863

5. Conclusions

This paper proposes a novel LCPV/T assisted absorption refrig-

eration system, where the LCPV/T system, with a higher light
concentration ratio than traditional PV/T module and tracking
system to ensure the better collection of solar energy, are combined
with the small Li/Br absorption refrigeration machine. The varia-
tions of refrigeration performance of the hybrid system under
different working conditions are investigated based on the exper-
iments. The conclusions are as follows:

(1) The cooling capacity of the system, COPX, and temperature

difference between the inlet and outlet of the chilled water
increase with the temperature of the hot water increasing,
although the increase rate gradually decreases. The COPX and
the cooling capacity increase when the cooling water flow
and the chilled water flow increase.
(2) Three functions are fitted as follows: COPX and hot water
Fig. 18. The variations of cooling water temperature at the inlet and outlet of the PV/T inlet temperature, cooling capacity and hot water inlet
glass channel over time. temperature, and chilled water inlet and outlet temperature
difference and hot water inlet temperature. Based on the
fitting functions, the aforementioned functions correspond
to approximate quadratic functions. The error values of the
three fitting functions are 1.19%, 0.95%, and 1.06%,
respectively.
(3) The system average cooling capacity is 7.20 kW, the average
COPX is 0.52, and the average cooling water outlet temper-
ature of the lithium bromide absorption chiller is 15
C.

Acknowledgements

This work is financially supported by Key Research and Devel-

opment Program of Hebei Province (18214318D) and Beijing
Municipal Science and Technology Project (Z151100003515002).

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