Simulation of a small size solar assisted adsorption air conditioning system for residential applications

This paper presents the results of a dynamic model simulating a new small size solar assisted adsorption air conditioning system for residential or tertiary sector buildings. The model was developed in TRNSYS and is able to dynamically simulate the behaviour of each component of the system. The climatic data used as input parameters refer to the city of Messina, while the thermal load profile used for simulations has been calculated considering the thermo-physical features of a small office building. The small size adsorption chiller has been modelled on the basis of experimental data collected on a laboratory prototype developed by CNR-ITAE that uses an innovative zeolite type synthesized for low regeneration temperature. Tests on the prototype have been carried out in several operating conditions and the recorded data have been used to predict the thermal behaviour and performance of the adsorption chiller. The results show that the system is able to provide enough cooling power to assure comfort condition in a 30 m3 office room. Afterwards, a parametric analysis was carried out in order to identify the most influencing parameters and to find out the most appropriate size for the various components of the system.