Modeling and simulation of a small-scale

solar-powered absorption cooling system in

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three cities with a tropical climate
..............................................................................................................................................................

Andrea Boero1 and Francis Agyenim2, *

1
ESPOL Polytechnic University, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, FIMCP,
Campus Gustavo Galindo km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, PO Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil,
Ecuador; 2 The Institute of Industrial Research, Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research, PO Box LG 576, East Legon, Accra, Ghana
............................................................................................................................................
Abstract
This study assessed through numerical simulations, the technical feasibility of a solar-powered absorption
cooling system for a small-scale application in an office building in three different cities with a tropical climate
in Ecuador. The model and simulations were performed using the dynamic transient software TRNSYS
and were compared and validated using experimental data obtained from a real-life system with main
components: 12 m2 vacuum tube solar thermal collector array, a 4.5 kW LiBr/H2 O single-effect absorption
chiller, a 6 kW fan coil and a 100 l sensible cold store. The results of the simulation showed a good agreement
with the experimental data with a deviation of 8.5%.
The validated model was used to undertake a parametric study to determine capacities of systems that will
be applicable to three Ecuadorian cities: Guayaquil, Manta and San Cristobal. The system capacity predicted
by the model for the Ecuadorian cities has the following components: 24 m2 evacuated tube collector field, a
20 kW heat exchanger, a 15 kW single-stage LiBr/H2 O absorption chiller, a 35 kW cooling tower and a cold
storage tank of 2 m3 . The results showed that the proposed system could meet most of the required cooling
load (90% for Guayaquil and San Cristobal, and 71% for Manta, considering a set point of 24◦ C) of a typical
single-story office building with.

Keywords: solar cooling; absorption chiller; cold store; tropical climate

∗ Corresponding author.
fagyenim@csir-iir.com Received 25 September 2018; revised 19 June 2019; editorial decision 19 June 2019; accepted 19 June 2019
................................................................................................................................................................................

1 INTRODUCTION
Five of the warmest years on record occurred since 2010; the peak
was in 2016 when the global average temperature was 0.56◦ C
above 1981–2010 average [1]. This global warming trend has
a significant impact on the energy sector, both in generation
and demand. Regarding the demand side, various authors [2,3]
have pointed out that the use of air conditioning is increasing
worldwide, due not only to higher ambient temperatures but also
to economic growth in developing countries.
Considering the above, the use of renewable energy sources in
powering air conditioners is a valuable strategy to reduce or offset
the growth in cooling demand; especially with the use of active
solar systems. In solar-powered air conditioning, cooling loads are
in phase with the amount of solar radiation. Indeed, the use of
solar cooling technologies has the potential for primary energy
savings in the range of 21–70% [4].
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16
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doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctz040
One of the first solar active cooling systems was a solar absorp-
tion air conditioner of industrial-scale constructed and tested
in 1976 in the USA [5]. At the present time around 1000 solar
thermal cooling systems are installed worldwide [6], the majority
of them in Europe. This is partly due to the support of programs
such as Solar Heating and Cooling established in 1977 by the
International Energy Agency (IEA), and projects supported by the
European Commission: Solar Air Conditioning in Europe from
2002 to 2004, and SOLAIR which ended in 2009.
Of all the available options to harvest solar energy for cooling
production, thermally driven absorption is the leading technol-
ogy, this is because of the following:
• Solar thermal collectors have higher efficiency (greater than
70% for vacuum tube collectors) than photovoltaic modules
(about 15%);
1
A. Boero and F. Agyenim

• Solar thermal cooling can be integrated into existing domestic

hot water—DHW infrastructure in residential and commercial
buildings [7];
• The use of solar-powered air conditioning reduces the environ-
mental impact related to the use of refrigerants that contain

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chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons in con-
ventional compressor chillers [8].
Regarding the capacity of active solar cooling systems, the
majority of studies and installations currently in operation are
large scale; consequently, further research in small solar cooling
and air conditioning applications is essential to promote this
technology in the market [9–11].
Most of the studies on solar-powered air conditioning have
been developed in areas where the cooling demand is seasonal,
Figure 1. Electricity consumption by different sectors in Ecuador, period
and therefore standalone solar cooling systems are not econom- 2000–17 [27].
ically viable. The potential for economic gains is high in tropical
regions where both cooling loads and solar radiation are higher
and less variable all year round [12]. Although there are only a few
81◦ 00 W. Its climate is significantly influenced by two ocean
studies developed for those locations [13–21], the general conclu-
currents: the warm current known as ‘El Niño’ that reaches the
sion is that solar cooling applications have good performances in
Ecuadorian coasts on the last days of December, and the cold
terms of energy savings.
current of Humboldt coming from the South Pole. As a result,
Various researchers have highlighted the need for more build-
there are two distinctive seasons, and for coastal cities, they are
ing integration of renewable energy systems [12,14,22,23] in order
characterized by hot and rainy periods between late December
to cope with challenges being faced today: resources abatement
and May. From June to early December the weather is less humid
and climate change. Solar-driven cooling systems are promis-
and a few degrees cooler with an average temperature of 25◦ C on
ing both in terms of energy savings and lower environmental
the coastal region.
impact [24]. To accomplish that, it is required to develop inte-
The electricity production in Ecuador has shown a polynomial
gral dynamic simulations and analysis for the design of systems
growth in the past quinquennium, from 11 944 GWh in the year
that can be energy and cost-effective and therefore economically
of 2002 to 28 051 GWh in 2017 [26]. This trend is mainly due
competitive [18].
to the steady increase of not only the industrial sector but also
Considering the above-mentioned the main purpose of this
the residential and commercial sectors, which represented 36%
paper is to evaluate the technical feasibility of a small-scale solar-
and 19%, respectively, of the electric energy demand in 2017 [27].
powered absorption cooling system in three Ecuadorian cities
In the period between 2002 and 2017, electricity consumption
with a tropical climate. The three cities selected for the study were
in buildings was more than half of the total country’s demand;
Guayaquil, Manta and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Guayaquil and
reaching 55% in 2017 (Figure 1). The preceding is a consequence
Manta share similar topography as well as climate and proximity
of both an escalation on the number of residential and commercial
to the Pacific coast. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is in San Cristobal,
users as well as an improvement in living standards of the people,
which is part of the Galapagos Islands. The selection of Puerto
with average income rising from US$233.13 per month in 2008 to
Baquerizo Moreno was based on the offer of an alternative to
US$437.44 in 2017 [28].
the traditional vapor-compression cycle and the recent growth in
Even though most of the electricity in Ecuador comes from
tourism at the Galapagos Islands [25], which has led to increased
hydropower (72% of the total production in 2017) [26], the con-
pressure on buildings and services as well as the island’s fragile
tinuous growth in air conditioning market dictated the need for
and unique environment.
an additional peak load increases. Additional supply will not
This paper reports on the development and validation of a
necessarily come from renewable sources. The use of thermal
TRNSYS model, validated using experimental data followed by a
cooling systems, therefore, represents an opportunity to offset the
parametric study of initial model employing data from the tropical
peak loads increase.
climate of Guayaquil, Manta and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in
Annual average global solar radiation in Ecuador ranges from
Equador.
4.4 to 4.7 kWh/m2 /day [29]. By Ecuador’s location, the incident
angle of the solar radiation is perpendicular to the surface during
the whole year; therefore the annual solar radiation intensity is
1.1 Energy context and climate uniform, reducing the variations and making the use of solar
Ecuador is a South American country with an area of 283 561 km2 , energy technologies more reliable [30]. The average of direct solar
has an approximate population of 16.7 million and lies between radiation along the coast (which includes Guayaquil and Manta)
latitude 01◦ 30 N and 03◦ 23.5 S, and longitude 75◦ 12 W and is below 2.4 kWh/m2 /day, and the diffuse radiation ranges from

2 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16


Figure 2. Hourly profile of insolation (kJ/h.m2) and ambient temperature (◦ C)
in Guayaquil, Average year.
2.6 to 3.1 kWh/m2 /day in the months of higher humidity [29],
which is the rainy season when the cooling demand is greater.
Guayaquil is a tropical climate city located 10 m above sea level on
the Pacific Coast and 2◦ below the Equatorial line, with minimum
and maximum mean ambient temperatures of 18◦ C and 34◦ C,
respectively. The hourly profile of global insolation and ambi-
ent temperature are shown in Figure 2. Figure 3 shows average
daily insolation and temperature of Manta and Puerto Baquerizo
Moreno. Manta is a port city, as Guayaquil, with similar weather
and solar irradiation; the mean average temperature is 24.8◦ C and
monthly maximum and minimum temperatures are 30.9◦ C and
20.3◦ C, respectively. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is in San Cristobal,
which is part of Galapagos Islands. Its average temperature is in
the range of 20–32◦ C, and the highest temperatures are recorded
from late December to May.
1.2 Experimental and TRNSYS model set-ups
A system-oriented simulation tool was used to assess the technical
feasibility of the solar-powered cooling equipment. However, as
the performance of an absorption chiller and the conditioned
space are mutually influenced by each other, a software capable of
simulating the conditioned space in conjunction with the solar-
powered cooling system was required. The commercial software
TRNSYS was selected. TRNSYS offers a variety of subroutines
Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption
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Figure 3. Daily insolation (kJ/h.m2) and temperature (◦ C) of (a) Manta and
(b) Puerto Baquerizo – San Cristobal.
models, known as types, and allows interconnection among them
to represent complex real systems.
1.3 Base model
The base model was established from the solar-powered absorp-
tion cooling system set-up and tested by Agyenim et al. [31]
during the summer of 2007 at Cardiff, UK. This configuration was
preferred because
• absorption technology has better performance among sorption
cooling equipment;
• evacuated tube collectors (ETCs) are more efficient than flat
plate collectors (FPCs), and they can harvest more of the
incoming solar radiation, both direct and diffuse.
• the model used only cold water storage to bridge the gap
between generation and use when solar is not available. The
main advantage is that they can cover demand peaks when
using small capacity chillers and/or the daily operation period
is long, as it is often the case in residential small-scale appli-
cations. In addition, the part-load or intermittent operation is
avoided [32].
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16 3
A. Boero and F. Agyenim
Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the prototype solar absorption cooling system installed and tested during the summer of 2007 at Cardiff, UK [31].
The proposed configuration for the initial model can be consid-
ered as two sub-systems: the solar thermal loop and the cooling
loop. The two loops are interconnected to each other by a 40 kW
heat exchanger, as it is presented in Figure 4. The solar thermal
sub-system includes a 12 m2 Thermomax vacuum tube collector
array and one pump; whereas the cooling sub-system consists
mainly of a 4.5 kW LiBr/H2 O Rotartica semi-commercial single-
effect absorption chiller, a 1000 l cold-water storage tank, a 6 kW
fan coil unit, pumps and the conditioned space.
The prototype [31], which comprised of four heat transfer
loops (the solar loop, the chiller inlet loop between the heat
exchanger and the chiller, the chiller output loop between the
chiller and the cold store and the fan coil loop), was in operation
during summer months (August and September) of 2007. To
evaluate the system performance, in each of the four loops, a
data-acquisition system was installed, which comprises of 16 ther-
mometers, 4 flow meters and 1 pyranometer. In addition, ambient
conditions were measured while testing the prototype. The system
performance was evaluated by integrating the difference in energy
input and output over time, with measurement time steps of
5 minutes.
Figure 5 shows the model of the solar absorption cooling
system developed in TRNSYS. The weather data in the model are
not corresponding to the period when the testing was executed;
in the model a typical meteorological year -version 2- TMY2
weather data file was included. Moreover, the model type used in
this study to represent the small-scale chiller was developed in
TRNSYS only for water-cooled units [33], which differs from the
chiller used in the prototype that was air-cooled. Finally, in this
model, the effects of inertia of the equipment were not included.
4 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16
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Below is the description of each of the components of the
model.
The simulations of the ETC array were performed using TRN-
SYS Type 71 routine, which determines the thermal performance
of the total collector array using the steady-state quadratic effi-
ciency equation, known as Hottel-Whillier equation [34].
   
T T 2
η = ηo − a1 − a2 (1)
IT IT
The model of the ETC was defined based on the technical
specifications of the collector DF100 by Thermomax, which are
shown in Table 1.
The proposed system has a heat exchanger to transfer the
thermal energy from the working fluid in the collector loop,
Tyfocor, to the chiller working fluid, water. The heat exchanger
was included in the model using Type 91, which simulates the
performance of a zero capacitance sensible heat exchanger with
constant effectiveness, independent of the system configuration
[34]. The parameters of this model are the effectiveness of the heat
exchanger, 0.9, and the specific heat of fluids, 3.90 kJ/kg-K and
4.19 kJ/kg-K for Tyfocor and water, respectively.
For the chiller, a semi-empirical model that corresponds to the
non-standard Type 177, formerly called Type 107, was selected.
This model was developed under the method of characteristic
equations t in TRNSYS 15, within the research project Task
25 of the IEA [33], and has been worked to be compatible with
TRNSYS 16. The theory behind this model corresponds to the
method of characteristic equations t studied by Ziegler et al.
 Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption

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Figure 5. Configuration of the solar powered absorption cooling system in TRNSYS.

Table 1. Technical specifications of ETC. of the method was developed by Kühn and Ziegler in 2005, which
includes a numerical fit of experimental data in order to avoid
Parameter Unit Value
significant errors in particular at high driving temperatures [33].
Collector type - Direct flow vacuum As the prototype included the air-cooled version of the Rotar-
Number of tubes - 30 tica absorption chiller, the model, however, included the water-
Dimensions–gross- mm 1996 × 2127 × 97
Absorber area m2 3.020
cooled version. Rotartica had two models of the same absorp-
Weight–empty- kg 81.4 tion chiller, water cooled –model 0.45, and air-cooled –model
Fluid content Lt 5.6 0.45v; therefore the model was set up with the experimental
Max. operating pressure bar 8 results obtained by Labus [37] that correspond to the water-cooled
Flow rate -nominal kg/h-m2 80 version of the chiller. Eighteen characteristic parameters of the
ηo - 0.832
Efficiency: based on
a1 kJ/hr-m2 -K 4.104
chiller are needed to simulate its behavior, which was calculated
absorber area by means of the multiple linear regressions algorithm to support
a2 kJ/hr-m2 -K2 0.0518
Fluid specific heat: Tyfocor kJ/kg-K 3.6–3.9 the available experimental data [37,38].
Fluid density: Tyfocor kg/m3 980–1035 An open cooling tower with counterflow configuration was
Max. fluid temperature ◦C 170 included using TRNSYS Type 51 subroutine. The thermal perfor-
Source: [35] mance of the cooling tower is modeled considering the states of
the moist air through this equipment and the following empirical
correlation [34]:
[36], which can represent the operation of the absorption cooling  
ṁw 1+n
cycle through ‘simple algebraic equations’, depending upon the NTU = c . (2)
external temperatures of the working fluids [33]. An improvement ṁa

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A. Boero and F. Agyenim

Table 2. Model parameters of the LiBr/H2 O absorption chiller Rotartica 045.

Id. Name Description Unit Value

1 rG,0 Zero-order parameter for axis interval—generator kJ/h 27 130

2 rG,I First-order parameter for axis interval—generator kJ/h-K −863.23
3 sG,0 Zero-order parameter for slope calculation—generator kJ/h-K 15.547

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4 sG,I First-order parameter for slope calculation -generator kJ/h-K2 34.338
5 rE,0 Zero-order parameter for axis interval—evaporator kJ/h 44 805
6 rE,I First-order parameter for axis interval—evaporator kJ/h-K −1740.7
7 sE,0 Zero-order parameter for slope calculation—evaporator kJ/h-K −413.35
8 sE,I First-order parameter for slope calculation—evaporator kJ/h-K2 41.695
9 B Dühring parameter - 1.2
10 tcw,1 Minimum cooling water inlet temperature ◦C 25
11 tcw,2 Maximum cooling water inlet temperature ◦C 40
12 thw,1 Minimum hot water inlet temperature ◦C 80
13 thw,2 Maximum hot water inlet temperature ◦C 100
14 tchw,1 Minimum chilled water inlet temperature ◦C 7
15 tchw,2 Maximum chilled water inlet temperature ◦C 15
16 mG Rated mass flow rate hot water kg/h 1200
17 mE Rated mass flow rate chilled water kg/h 2000
18 mAC Rated mass flow rate cooling water kg/h 1200

Source: values were calculated using the methodology described by Albers [38] based on the data gathered by Labus [37].

Table 3. Specifications of the cold-water storage tank. used by Type 56 component during the simulations. To obtain
the total cooling load for the building, the ‘energy rate’ control
Unit Value
is implemented, which is a simplified model of the system that
Tank volume m3 1 considers a set point of 24◦ C and unlimited cooling power. Then,
Fluid specific heat kJ/kg-K 4.190 an approach where the cooling loads are imposed on the chilled
Fluid density kg/m3 1000
Tank loss coefficient kJ/hr-m2 -K 3.0
water stream from the cold store has been implemented using
Number of nodes - 5 equation (3):
Height of node 1 m 0.348
Height of node 2 m 0.46 Tout = Tin + Qload /ṁchw cp . (3)
Height of node 3 m 0.505
Height of node 4 m 0.435
Height of node 5 m 0.31 T in and mchw were the temperature and mass flow rate of the
Entering node for hot-side fluid - 1 chilled water supplied by the cold store tank, Qload is the building
Entering node for cold-side fluid - 5 cooling load and cp is the specific heat capacity of water.
The control strategy of the system was divided into two stages:
the cooling generation capacity stage and the cooling distribution
stage.
The constants c and n correspond to the particular cooling Chilled water production depended entirely on the availability
tower configuration used in this model and are 1.684 and −0.391, of solar radiation, as there was no hot buffer tank or additional
respectively [39]. heat source to drive the chiller; therefore, to regulate the first stage
For the present model, the cold storage was an insulated water of the solar-powered absorption chiller, a solar energy rate control
tank, whose performance was modeled using TRNSYS Type 4 is implemented. The differential on/off controller with hysteresis
routine (represents a sensible thermal storage with vertical strat- is modeled using TRNSYS Type 2, with a minimum power value
ification effects). The dimensions of the tanks as well as other of 1000 kJ/hr-m2 and a maximum of 3500 kJ/hr-m2 , with a lower
thermal properties required by the model are shown in Table 3. dead band insolation difference of 100 kJ/hr-m2 . This control,
Regarding the cooling load, the base model was established identified as Control-1, commands the operation of Pumps 1–4.
as an ideal representation to the system installed and tested by The operation of the fan of the cooling tower was regulated with
Agyenim et al. [31], which was sized to cover an annual cooling an iterative feedback controller, Control-2, that is modeled with
demand of 1472 kWh with a peak load of 2.1 kW. The cooling TRNSYS Type 22. Control-2 calculates the control signal to the
loads registered in the experimental installation corresponded to fan, which determines the airflow through the tower to maintain
those of an 82 m3 office at Cardiff University in the summer of the temperature of the re-cooling water entering the chiller at the
2007. These cooling loads have been approximated and included defined set point.
in the model using the standard component Type 56. The pre- The operation of the cooling distribution stage, which consisted
processing program TRNBUILD [34] is used to set up the descrip- of the cold store, the conditioned space and the pump and fan coil
tion of the conditioned space and generate the two files that are unit, depended on whether there was cooling energy demand in

6 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16

 Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption

Table 4. Performance indicators of the system. Table 5. Technical data of a 15 kW a +bsorption chiller.
Indicator Definition Equation Parameter Unit Value
Qcoll
Net collector Useful solar heat delivered by ηcoll = Isol Eq. (4) Cooling capacity kW 15
efficiency the solar collector array divided Coefficient of performance COP - 0.71
◦C

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by the total solar radiation on Chilled Inlet temperature 17
water Outlet temperature ◦C 11
the tilted collector area
Qe m3 /h
Thermal Ratio of the cooling output of COP = Qcoll Eq. (5) Flow rate 1.9
COP the chiller by the required Heating Thermal output kW 21
water Inlet temperature ◦C 90
driving heat input
Qroom Outlet temperature ◦C 80
Solar COP Overall COP of the system: COPs = Qcoll Eq. (6)
cooling power to the room per Flow rate m3 /h 1.8
available solar power Re- Re-cooling capacity kW 35
cooling Inlet temperature ◦C 30
water Outlet temperature ◦C 36
Flow rate m3 /h 5

the building or not. Therefore, an on/off controller, a thermostat, Source: [41]

with a set-point temperature of 24◦ C had been implemented.

1.4 Validation
To assess the accuracy of the proposed model, an empirical val-
idation approach has been utilized. This validation is important
because although the models used corresponded to the TRNSYS
library, for the chiller component a new model was utilized, cali-
brated with experimental data. The method involves the compari-
son of the calculated results from the model developed in TRNSYS
to the monitored results from the real installation that operated
during the summer of 2007 in Cardiff. The performance of the
system was determined by the performance of the absorption
chiller, which in turn depended on the three water streams in
and out of the equipment; therefore, the inlet parameters used in
the model were approximated to the values documented exper-
imentally, including but not limited to the mass flow rates, fluid
temperatures and building cooling loads.
The performance criteria defined in Table 4 were used to eval-
uate the results of the simulations. The same performance indica-
tors were used to technically assess the feasibility of the proposed
system for the three Ecuadorian cities.
1.5 Setup of the model to subtropical climate location
The meteorological conditions of Guayaquil, Manta and Puerto
Baquerizo Moreno were employed in simulating for both
the building cooling demands and cooling power output of
the proposed system. The weather data files corresponded
to a typical meteorological year Type 2 file, EC-Guayaquil-
Aer-842030.tm2, EC-Manta-Eloy-Alfaro-841170.tm2 and C-
San-Cristobal-840080.tm2, for Guayaquil, Manta and Puerto
Baquerizo Moreno, respectively. For Ecuadorian cities there is
no solar radiation data available; therefore the weather dataset
only provides interpolated values of solar radiation, based on
the geographic position and solar radiation data recorded on the
nearest weather stations [40].
The criterion for resizing of the components was that the cool-
ing system must be able to provide the required cooling power to
the conditioned space to maintain the room temperature around
24◦ C, over 80% of the time during working hours (between 08 00
and 20 00).
Given that the conditioned space, as well as the cooling loads for
the three Ecuadorian cities, is larger, indeed in Guayaquil the peak
load was 2-fold of that registered in Cardiff, the total collector
area was increased to 24 m2 . In the same way as the base model,
a position-fixed array of ETCs has been utilized. To maximize
the amount of solar heat power generated by the collectors, an
azimuth angle of 0◦ and a tilt angle appropriate to the latitude of
the cities were selected; 2◦ 12 S in Guayaquil, 0◦ 57 N in Manta and
0◦ 54 S in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
A different chiller has been used, due to the increase in cooling
demand expected in these cities. The technical data shown in
Table 5 correspond to the absorption chiller WEGRACAL SE 15,
from the EAW company, using a LiBr/H2 O solution as a working
pair, and have a nominal capacity of 15 kW [41].
This chiller has been modeled using the thermal characteristic
described in Table 6 that were provided by Albers [38] within the
Type 177 routine.
In the same fashion as the base model, a cooling tower and
a cold store tank were included in the set-up for the Ecuado-
rian cities. However, their heat rejection and store capacities,
respectively, have been increased. This has been accomplished
increasing the flow rates of the re-cooling water stream and air
in the cooling tower, and the size of the tank, with a volume
of 2 m3 .
The cooling load is included in the system using the standard
component Type 56. The load was modeled as a single-story office
building of 450 m3 without internal partitions and with external
structures as described in Table 7. The construction elements are
of similar characteristics of those typically used in local con-
structions in Ecuador. An estimated infiltration rate of 0.25 air
change rate per hour (ACH) has been included in the building
model. The internal gains arise from three sources: people, office
equipment and artificial lighting. To evaluate the variations of
the performance of the proposed system for the three cities, the
internal loads remained the same.

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A. Boero and F. Agyenim

Table 6. Model parameters employed in the LiBr/H2 O absorption.

Id. Name Description Unit Value

1 rG,0 Zero-order parameter for axis interval–generator kJ/h −15 654

2 rG,I First-order parameter for axis interval–generator kJ/h-K 978
3 sG,0 Zero-order parameter for slope calculation–generator kJ/h-K 3203

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4 sG,I First-order parameter for slope calculation–generator kJ/h-K2 −60
5 rE,0 Zero-order parameter for axis interval–evaporator kJ/h −1855
6 rE,I First-order parameter for axis interval–evaporator kJ/h-K 55
7 sE,0 Zero-order parameter for slope calculation–evaporator kJ/h-K 2384
8 sE,I First-order parameter for slope calculation–evaporator kJ/h-K2 −41
9 B Dühring parameter - 1.20
10 tcw,1 Minimum cooling water inlet temperature ◦C 26
11 tcw,2 Maximum cooling water inlet temperature ◦C 37
12 thw,1 Minimum hot water inlet temperature ◦C 59
13 thw,2 Maximum hot water inlet temperature ◦C 96
14 tchw,1 Minimum chilled water inlet temperature ◦C 5
15 tchw,2 Maximum chilled water inlet temperature ◦C 25
16 mG Rated mass flow rate hot water kg/h 1940
17 mE Rated mass flow rate chilled water kg/h 1999
18 mAC Rated mass flow rate cooling water kg/h 4975

Source: [38]

Table 7. Construction materials and U-values. Additional control of the room thermostat was implemented.
Wall type Layers 2
U-value (W/m -K) This control was scheduled so that the system operates only in
office hours (between 08 00 and 20 00).
Ground Floor 0.005 m 0.834 The diagram flow of the model adapted to the new location is
Stone 0.060 m
Silence 0.040 m
shown in Figure 6.
Concrete 0.240 m
External wall Plaster 0.015 m 2.554
Concrete hollow blocks 0.102 m 2 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Plaster 0.015 m
Roof and ceiling Light concrete element 0.050 m 0.958 Two models of a solar-powered absorption cooling system were
Air layer developed for the locations: Cardiff in the UK and the second for
Expanded polystyrene 0.010 m
Guayaquil, Manta and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in Ecuador. A
Plasterboard 0.020 m
Windows: 25% of Single glazed framed window 5.68 short time-step of 5 minutes was used in the simulations.
the area on North As it was mentioned the meteorology for the based model was
and South walls taken from TRNSYS database; therefore a minor deviation from
the experimental results is expected. The selection of the day for
the comparison and validation of the model with the experimental
data at Cardiff, the UK on 24 August 2007, was based on the global
The first stage control, for the cooling generation capacity, was solar radiation profile. The selected day was 30 August. The dif-
implemented in the same fashion as in the base model, using ference between insolation profile of the theoretical (30 August)
a differential controller TRNSYS Type 2 for Pumps 1–4, and a and experimental (24 August) meteorological data between 10 00
feedback controller TRNSYS Type 22 to regulate the air flow in and 16 00 is less than 10%.
the cooling tower. The minimum level of solar radiation to drive To validate the model the following equation was used to
the pumps of the solar subsystem was 500 kJ/hr.m2 . calculate the relative error:
Regarding the cooling distribution stage, similarly to the base
model, a thermostat is implemented. The thermostat was set  
valuesim − valueexp
for a temperature range between 22◦ C and 24◦ C, which reduces error% = × 100, (7)
system intermittence. To couple the model of the building with the valueexp
solar-powered absorption system, additional elements were
included: a single speed fan, Type 112b; a simplified model for where valuesim and valueexp are the performance parameters cal-
the cooling coil, Type 32; and two components to calculate the culated within the model and values registered by Agyenim et al.
psychometrics properties of the moist air, which are modeled [31] during the experimental operation, respectively.
with TRNSYS Type 33. This approach, known as ‘temperature The performance of the entire system is strongly influenced
level’ control, was selected for this model to simulate with more by the three fluid streams entering the absorption chiller. This
detail the cooling equipment. implies that to compare the results of the model with the measured

8 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16


Figure 6. Flow diagram of the solar-powered absorption cooling system in TRNSYS.
Figure 7. Measure and simulated total solar radiation power on the collector
surface and cooling load for an 82 m3 office.
values, inlet parameters to the model, such as the total solar
radiation on the collector surface and the building cooling loads,
are required to be equal, or else, very similar to the values doc-
umented during the experimental work. Hence, the conditioned
space model was developed so that the cooling demand daily
profile follows as close as possible the actual profile (Figure 7).
The deviation between simulated and experimental data for
the solar input power and the cooling power output of the entire
system is small, particularly between 10 00 and 16 00 (Figure 7).
Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption
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However, the profiles differ significantly in the early morning and
late afternoon, when the availability of solar radiation is lower
(Tables 8 and 9).
Figure 8 shows the useful thermal power output of the collec-
tor field and its efficiency. The collector output follows closely
the total solar insolation; the efficiency remains around 0.66–
0.68 between the hours with higher solar radiation, from 10 00
to 16 00.
Figures 9 and 10 show the comparison between the operational
temperatures of the absorption chiller, the cooling capacity and its
thermal COP (coefficient of performance). The simulated results
predict the experimental data at an acceptable error of approxi-
mately 12%.
On the other hand, the generator temperature is to some extent
less than expected, considering that the solar radiation power in
the simulation results is noticeably higher than measured val-
ues. Despite the above-mentioned, the thermal performance of
the chiller was not reduced, in fact, is slightly better than its
experimental counterpart (Figure 10). This could be attributed
to the use of a water-cooled version of the absorption chiller in
the model, instead of the air-cooled chiller that was used in the
installation at Cardiff University. This observation is similar to
what has been concluded in previous works [12], where they also
acknowledge that the influence of the heat rejection temperature
determines not only the thermal performance of the absorption
chiller but also its electricity consumption, in particular in part-
load operation.
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16 9
A. Boero and F. Agyenim

Table 8. Comparison of operational temperatures of the system.

Between 10 00 and 16 00 All day
System
components Average ◦C Min. ◦C Max. ◦C Average ◦C
Avg. error Avg. error
Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp.

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Collector outlet 84.7 81.7 4% 68.7 63.3 91.5 92.0 68.2 65.5 20%
Chiller generator inlet 82.2 78.0 5% 66.7 60.1 88.8 88.1 65.0 63.9 30%
Chiller evaporator outlet 10.9 9.8 12% 9.4 7.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 13.1 14%
Fan coil inlet 11.0 10.5 6% 9.4 8.0 14.7 15.2 14.1 12.6 13%

Table 9. Comparison of performance parameters of the system.

Parameters Between 10 00 and 16 00 All day

SD SD
Sim. Exp. Avg. error Sim. Exp. Avg. error
Sim. Exp. Sim. Exp.

Collector net efficiency 0.68 0.66 0.2% 1% 10% 0.67 0.59 5% 2% 27%
Chiller thermal COP 0.73 0.64 24% 6% 17% 0.84 0.18 51% 22% 336%
System solar COP 0.34 0.37 2% 7% 17% 0.51 0.99 14% 160% 204%

The model of the chiller used in this work, Type 177, does
not include the calculation of its electricity consumption. Elec-
tricity consumption was therefore not simulated. It was, however,
calculated from technical data supplied by manufacturers. It was
estimated that the electricity consumption rate of the model was
∼1.23 kW, which agrees with the results presented by Agyenim
et al. [31].
The average error increases if it is calculated for the entire time
range, from 06 00 to 20 00. This is a consequence of the unsteady
operation of the system in the early hours of the morning and
late afternoon, which is more accentuated in the real system in
comparison with the theoretical model, where inertial effects in
the heat exchanger and absorption chiller were not included.
The collector efficiency shows good agreement between the
simulated and measured values, even for the entire day, likewise, Figure 8. Solar thermal collection system: power output and net efficiency.
the solar COP of the system (Figure 11). The simulated thermal
COP of the chiller, however, differs almost 25% from the experi-
mental data, which may be due to the omission of some inertial minimum hot water temperature for the chiller to start to produce
effects as discussed before. cooling is 59◦ C; the level of solar radiation prior to achieving this
temperature is 98 W/m2 . To drive the chiller a minimum power of
solar radiation required is 155 W/m2 . The maximum chiller power
2.1 Performance of the solar-powered cooling system output of 10.15 kW is reached at 12 25.
in Ecuadorian cities The average efficiency of the collector for the day is 0.59, and
Figures 12–14 show the performance parameters on a typical hot during the period between 10 s00 and 16 00, when the solar
day in Guayaquil. Over a 24-hour period, the performance of radiation is less variable, the average efficiency is 0.65. The average
the system follows the same trend as the base model at Cardiff. thermal COP of the chiller over a period of 24 hours is 0.60, and
However, as the solar resource is higher, the collector and chiller between 10 00 and 16 00 is 0.63, which is close to the nominal
output achieves higher and lower temperatures, respectively, than value of 0.71 for the selected chiller.
those of the base model at Cardiff. The efficiency of the collector The solar COP is an efficiency parameter comprising the entire
array registered similar values for both cities; the thermal COP of system; which relates the cooling power to the room with the
the chiller is better for Guayaquil. collector power output. The average solar COP is 0.45 between
Over a 24-hour period, there are 11 hours of solar resource. 10 00 and 16 00, and 0.74 over a 24-hour period. The value
The temperature of the water inside the collector starts to increase increased on the last hours of the afternoon due to the availability
after 07 00, and chilled water production starts from 08 00. The of stored energy in the form of chilled water in the tank.

10 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16

 Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption

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Figure 9. Measured and simulated inlet and outlet fluid temperatures of the Figure 12. Hourly variation of solar radiation, ambient temperature, collector
absorption chiller. output, chiller output, tank average and room temperature on a typical hot day
(30 March) with 976 W/m2 peak radiation in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Figure 13. Hourly variation of solar power available, collector power output and
Figure 10. Measured and simulated absorption chiller cooling capacity and
collector efficiency, on a typical hot day (19 March) in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
thermal COP.

Figure 14. Hourly variation of chiller cooling power output and Thermal COP,
Figure 11. Solar COP of the system. on a typical hot day with 976 W/m2 peak radiation in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The daily performance of the system for the entire year in show the same trend, particularly on the warmest months, where
Guayaquil and in the other two cities, Manta and San Cristobal, the solar resource and cooling demand are larger.

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16 11

A. Boero and F. Agyenim

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Figure 17. Monthly variation of collector array efficiency in Guayaquil, Manta
and San Cristobal.
Figure 15. Collector power output in Guayaquil, Manta and San Cristobal.

Figure 18. Monthly variation of absorption chiller COP in Guayaquil, Manta

and San Cristobal.
Figure 16. Cooling load in Guayaquil, Manta and San Cristobal.

To compare the performance of the system in the three

Ecuadorian cities, annual simulations were performed. As it
was expected, the warmest months, between January and May,
are as well the months with higher loads. In Guayaquil and
Manta, March is the warmest month, and in Puerto Baquerizo
(San Cristobal), April. A summary of the results on the warmest
months is shown in Table 10.
The average performance of the system in Guayaquil and
Manta are similar between each other. In San Cristobal, the
level of insolation is higher, and the relative humidity is lower, in
Figure 19. Monthly variation of system solar COP in Guayaquil, Manta and San
comparison with the other two cities. In San Cristobal, due to the Cristobal.
higher solar resource, the amount of energy harvested from the
collector array is higher, as well as the chiller cooling capacity and
the cooling power to the room. However, the average performance The total annual cooling load is 14 361 kWh, 13 442 kWh and
of the system (efficiency of the collector, thermal COP of the 10 462 kWh in a 450 m3 one-story building located in Guayaquil,
chiller and solar COP) is noticeably lower in comparison with Manta and San Cristobal, respectively. In San Cristobal, from June
Guayaquil and Manta (Table 10). to December the cooling demand decreases significantly.
Figures 15–19 show the annual simulation results, comparing The monthly average collector efficiency ranges from 0.47 to
the three cities. The total annual energy output from the collector 0.61 in the three cities. Under the conditions of Guayaquil, the
is 26 265 kWh, 26 677 kWh and 26 516 kWh, respectively in collector array has the best performance, in particular between
Guayaquil, Manta and San Cristobal, which represents corre- January and April. Similarly, the chiller thermal COP achieves
spondingly 58%, 56%, and 53% of the total incident solar energy higher values in the warmest months. The monthly averages range
on the collector array. from 0.17 to 0.72.

12 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16

 Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption

Table 10. Operational parameters of the Solar Cooling System in Guayaquil, Manta and San Cristobal (between 8 00 and 20 00)
Parameter Unit Average Maximum Minimum Deviation

Guayaquil/March
Ambient temperature ◦C 28.65 33.00 22.64 2.05
Wet bulb temperature ◦C 24.24 26.88 20.57 1.19

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Room temperature ◦C 22.61 26.85 19.52 1.00
Cooling power to room kW 4.36 13.74 0.00 4.45
Total Insolation on collector W/m2 488.43 1043.88 0.00 330.01
Collector outlet temperature ◦C 96.25 132.39 42.97 20.42
Collector power output kW 9.22 16.73 0.86 4.28
Efficiency of the collector - 0.61 0.73 0.31 0.06
Chiller inlet generator temperature ◦C 80.75 107.10 37.64 13.50
Chiller inlet re-cooling temperature ◦C 34.88 37.51 20.49 1.51
Chiller outlet evaporator temperature ◦C 12.05 22.64 5.09 4.15
Generator inlet power kW 9.21 16.55 0.85 4.33
Chiller cooling capacity kW 5.89 11.95 0.00 2.89
Chiller heat rejection kW 15.39 28.23 0.96 6.99
Chiller thermal COP - 0.60 1.25 0.00 0.12
Average tank temperature ◦C 13.33 23.59 5.72 4.26
Solar COP - 0.71 11.21 0.00 1.19

Manta/March
Ambient temperature ◦C 27.40 31.10 21.53 1.62
Wet bulb temperature ◦C 23.98 26.39 19.89 1.20
Room temperature ◦C 23.36 26.65 18.96 1.18
Cooling power to room kW 3.75 11.94 0.00 3.02
Total Insolation on collector W/m2 493.52 1045.07 0.00 334.07
Collector outlet temperature ◦C 103.03 137.31 63.31 20.46
Collector power output kW 8.76 16.42 0.53 4.25
Efficiency of the collector - 0.56 0.73 0.20 0.08
Chiller inlet generator temperature ◦C 88.31 112.70 60.88 13.47
Chiller inlet re-cooling temperature ◦C 40.94 43.62 21.93 1.31
Chiller outlet evaporator temperature ◦C 15.67 25.74 7.01 4.09
Generator inlet power kW 8.68 16.20 0.43 4.28
Chiller cooling capacity kW 5.24 12.82 0.03 2.74
Chiller heat rejection kW 13.80 29.02 0.01 7.09
Chiller thermal COP - 0.53 0.79 0.01 0.12
Average tank temperature ◦C 17.02 25.70 7.55 4.11
Solar COP - 0.69 16.20 0.00 1.14

San Cristobal/April
Ambient temperature ◦C 28.97 33.70 23.17 1.91
Wet bulb temperature ◦C 21.92 24.91 19.03 1.13
Room temperature ◦C 22.61 27.85 19.85 1.12
Cooling power to room kW 4.46 12.67 0.00 4.52
Total insolation on collector W/m2 634.39 1097.28 0.00 370.99
Collector outlet temperature ◦C 118.00 149.56 65.79 24.35
Collector power output kW 10.60 16.03 0.40 4.66
Efficiency of the collector - 0.57 0.66 0.15 0.08
Chiller inlet generator temperature ◦C 100.19 124.33 62.82 16.68
Chiller inlet re-cooling temperature ◦C 41.63 45.00 37.31 1.03
Chiller outlet evaporator temperature ◦C 11.57 22.62 5.15 3.72
Generator inlet power kW 10.59 16.05 0.36 4.71
Chiller cooling capacity kW 6.25 10.09 0.00 2.97
Chiller heat rejection kW 16.53 26.07 0.02 7.90
Chiller thermal COP - 0.50 0.65 0.00 0.14
Average tank temperature ◦C 12.53 22.34 5.73 3.68
Solar COP - 0.65 20.37 0.00 1.34

In Guayaquil and Manta, the solar COP is in the range of 0.50– however, from June to December, the solar COP decreases to an
0.72. In San Cristobal only on the warmest months, the solar average of 0.31. This situation could be attributed to the lower
COP reaches a performance in the range of the other two cities; cooling demand presented on these months.

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16 13

 14
Table 11. Comparison with literature for absorption cooling systems in tropical climates.
A. Boero and F. Agyenim

Ref. Author Year Location Building type Floor Solar Collector A/C unit Working Cooling Backup Average Comments
area (m2 ) collector area (m2 ) pair capacity system thermal
(kW) COP

[13] Abed et al. 2017 Malaysia Single zone ETC SS with single NH3 -H2 O 3–5 — 0.127–0.282
building ejector
SS with single 0.170–0.362
ejector and flash
tank
SS with dual 0.234–0.465
ejectors and
flash tank
[14] Fong et al. 2017 Hong Kong, Three-story 588 ETC 100 SS system LiBr-water 39 Auxiliary 0.78 Hybrid system:
China office building heater solar absorption
and ground-

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2020, 00, 1–16

source radiant
cooling
[16] Lubis et al. 2016 Indonesia Research center ETC 181 Single-double LiBr-water 239 Auxiliary gas 1.4–3.3∗ COP calculated
building effect absorption heater as cooling
capacity divided
by natural gas
consumption
[18] Marc et al. 2012 Reunion Four classrooms Double- 90 SS system LiBr-water 30 Without 0.60
Island at university glazed FP backup
[19] Naranjo 2013 Guayaquil, 15-story office 1296 ETC 600 SS system LiBr-water 175 Auxiliary 0.60
et al. Ecuador building boiler heater
[20] Xu and 2017 Miami, USA Single zone CPC 150–275 Variable effect LiBr-water 50 Auxiliary 0.88
Wang building absorption cycle heater
[21] Agrouaz 2017 Morocco One-story 200 FP 25 SS absorption LiBr-water 10 Backup 0.19–0.30
et al. building system chiller 5 kW
This study 2019 Guayaquil, Single zone, 450 ETC 24 SS absorption LiBr-water 15 Without 0.60
Ec office building system backup
Manta, Ec 0.53
Puerto 0.50
Baquerizo,
Ec

SS, single -stage absorption cycle; FP, flat plate; ETC, evacuated tube collector; CPC, compound parabolic collector.

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Table 11 summarizes some of the previous works on solar
absorption cooling applied in tropical or sub-tropical locations.
Regarding performance, the system proposed in this study shows
good agreement in terms of COP as well as collector area—cooling
load ratio; 1.6 m2 /kW whereas in the literature range from 0.8
to 4 m2 /kW. Although in most cases the solar cooling systems
have some type of backup unit, the results of this study as well
as the one by Marc et al. [18] show that there is the potential of
increased energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
mitigation with the application of these types of configurations.
Thereby, considering a vapor-compression chiller with the same
capacity and a COP of 4, the annual energy savings would range
between 2616 and 3590 kWh. Therefore, an annual reduction
in GHG emissions about 1120 kg CO2eq is estimated [42]. In
economic terms, the proposed system has a lower advantage than
the traditional vapor-compression system, due to the subsidies in
the electricity tariff (considering a tariff of 0.10 USD/kWh, the
annual cost savings would be US$320).
3 CONCLUSIONS
The current model has shown that applying a simple strategy
control, sound predictions about the thermal performance of a
solar absorption cooling system can be obtained.
The comparison of the results of the simulations with the
measured data shows that the performance of the system is well
described by the model developed in TRNSYS. The average error
in the operational and performance parameters is 8% during
steady-state operation and 21% during transient operation. The
larger deviations observed during transient periods (i.e. at start-
ups and shutdowns of the system) could be attributed to several
factors, including inertial effects that were not considered in some
components of the system.
The application of a simplified control strategy, although has its
limitations in particular when the inlet parameters fall outside the
operational range of the system, is an excellent approach in order
to size and assess a solar thermal cooling system. The performance
of this type of systems depends strongly on several factors that
could not be evaluated by applying steady-state methods.
The proposed system is capable to provide 100% of the required
energy (i.e. no backup system was considered) to air-condition
to a 450 m3 one-story building with low internal loads and mod-
eled according to construction standards of the coastal zone of
Ecuador. The proposed, which has the following components:
24 m2 ETC field, a 20 kW heat exchanger, a 15 kW single-stage
LiBr/H2 O absorption chiller, a 35 kW cooling tower and a cold
storage tank of 2 m3 , could meet up to 90% of the cooling demand
of the building considering the climate conditions of Guayaquil,
Manta and San Cristobal.
The output of the collector and chiller depends on the level of
solar radiation, as expected. Months with higher levels of solar
radiation are those with higher cooling requirements. Overall, the
performance of the proposed system for Guayaquil exceeds the
performance of the other two cities. It is important to notice that
Modeling and simulation of a small-scale solar-powered absorption
in tropical locations as the cities evaluated, a collector that can
harvest both direct and diffuse radiation is necessary.
The operating parameters of the cooling tower significantly
influenced the cooling capacity of the system and the outlet tem-
perature of chilled water. Throughout the annual simulation,
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the temperature of the re-cooling tower was monitored to avoid
crystallization problems in the chiller.
Although the proposed alternative falls short in economic
terms in comparison with the traditional vapor-compression
system, due to the subsidies in the national electricity tariff, there
is significant potential in terms of climate change mitigation. The
latter is an important factor to take into consideration, especially if
there is a serious commitment to move toward more sustainable
urbanization, and in the case of Galapagos Islands, this matter
becomes even more relevant.
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