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Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

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

Solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high temperature cooling


in subtropical city
K.F. Fong*, C.K. Lee, T.T. Chow, Z. Lin, L.S. Chan
Division of Building Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

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

Article history: Although solar energy is able to power the heat-driven refrigeration, its contribution is quite limited due
Received 18 November 2009 to the conventional cooling requirement. In building air-conditioning, it is common to supply low
Accepted 24 February 2010 temperature chilled water, usually in 5e7  C. If this temperature can be elevated, it would enhance the
Available online 21 March 2010
effectiveness to harness solar energy and minimize auxiliary heating. Solar refrigeration would then be
more effective through high temperature cooling, by providing 15e18  C chilled water instead. In such
Keywords:
provision, radiant ceiling cooling can be coupled to handle the space cooling load, particularly space
Adsorption refrigeration
sensible load. And the space latent load and ventilation load are handled by a separate dehumidification
High temperature cooling
Radiant cooling
provision, like the heat-driven desiccant dehumidification. Therefore, a solar hybrid air-conditioning
Solar air-conditioning system is formulated, using adsorption refrigeration, chilled ceilings and desiccant dehumidification. In
Desiccant dehumidification this study, the year-round performances of the proposed solar hybrid air-conditioning systems were
evaluated for two typical office types. The performance metrics include the solar fraction, coefficient of
performance, solar thermal gain, primary energy consumption and indoor conditions. Comparative study
was conducted for the hybrid air-conditioning system worked with the three common types of chilled
ceilings, namely the chilled panels, passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. The solar hybrid
air-conditioning system was also benchmarked with the conventional vapour compression refrigeration
for office use. It is found that the proposed solar hybrid air-conditioning system is technically feasible
through high temperature cooling. Among the three types of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams is
the most energy-efficient option to work with the solar adsorption refrigeration for space conditioning in
the subtropical city.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction [2]. Therefore it is urgent to minimize the consumption of fossil fuels


and promote wider use of alternative energy, particularly in refrig-
The demand of air-conditioning is increasing due to the effect eration and air-conditioning.
of climate change and global warming. If we still rely on the Application of solar cooling is a feasible way to replace the
conventional electric air-conditioning but electricity is generated electric refrigeration machines for building air-conditioning. In the
from fossil fuels, the greenhouse gas emission would continuously recent years, more reviews have been made about the feasibility of
worsen global warming, in turn the demand of air-conditioning wider application of solar cooling technologies [3e5]. Especially the
would be further increasing. In the subtropical cities, solar thermal technologies, they are getting mature for refrigera-
air-conditioning is a standard provision for buildings. However, tion and air-conditioning purposes. A number of demonstration
air-conditioning would commonly take up half of building projects have been launched to study the design and operation of
electricity consumption. More and more evidents show that the the solar refrigeration and air-conditioning [6e8]. It is fit to apply
climate change is getting worse. The changes of global surface solar energy in air-conditioning for office and commercial build-
temperature, global average sea level, snow and ice over 1850 to ings, since the major cooling demand is coincident to the time of
2000 are reported [1]. The increasing trend of the environmental solar energy supply.
temperatures would affect the future air-conditioning requirements In a centralized air-conditioning, it is common to supply 5e7  C
chilled water for cooling and dehumidification purpose. If this
temperature can be elevated, it would enhance the effectiveness to
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ852 27888724; fax: þ852 27889716. harness solar energy. Solar refrigeration is more effective to
E-mail address: bssquare@cityu.edu.hk (K.F. Fong). provide 15e18  C chilled water for high temperature cooling,

0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2010.02.024
2440 K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

Nomenclature V_ air flow rate (m3 s1)


Y humidity ratio of air (kg kg1)
A area of air channel inside desiccant wheel (m2) z distance in axial direction (m)
a half height of air channel inside desiccant wheel (m)
b half width of air channel inside desiccant wheel (m) Greek symbols
c specific heat capacity (kJ kg1 K1) DHa heat of adsorption (kJ kg1)
COP coefficient of performance of adsorption chiller DHv specific latent heat of vaporization of water (kJ kg1)
D diffusion coefficient of water vapor in air (m2 s1) he energy efficiency for electrical energy converted into
Ee, air electrical energy consumption of air side equipment primary energy
(kWh) hg energy efficiency for gas energy converted into
Ee, water electrical energy consumption of water side equipment primary energy
(kWh) r density (kg m3)
Eg,aux gas energy consumption of auxiliary heating (kWh) u1.u7 coefficients in Eqs. (23), (25), (27), (28), (30)e(32)
Ep primary energy consumption (kWh) respectively (e, s1, e, K s1, s1, K s1, K s1)
Ep,air primary energy consumption of air side equipment,
including all the fans (kWh) Subscripts
Ep,aux primary energy consumption of auxiliary heating a air
(kWh) ACB active chilled beams
Ep,total primary energy consumption of entire solar hybrid air- ad adsorption chamber
conditioning system (kWh) adw adsorption chamber water
Ep,water primary energy consumption of water side equipment, am metal in adsorption/desorption chamber
including all pumps and cooling tower (kWh) c condenser
F temperature effectiveness of heat exchanger cm metal in condenser
f mass per unit length (kg m1) cw cooling water
h heat transfer coefficient (W m2 K1) de desorption chamber
hOT number of air-conditioning hours with room e evaporator
temperature above the upper limit of comfort em metal in evaporator
temperature eq condition of air in equilibrium with desiccant wall
k thermal conductivity (W m1 K1) ew chilled water
Ky mass transfer coefficient (kg m2 s1) hw regenerative water
Lp perimeter of air channel inside desiccant wheel (m) i inlet
M mass (kg) m total number of time steps in a month for hot water
m mass flow rate (kg s1) pump in operation
n exponent for Freundlich equation m0 total number of time steps in a month for adsorption
Nu Nusselt number chiller in operation
P pressure (kPa) mat matrix material in desiccant wheel
Q heat transfer rate (kW) me metal
q relative amount of water in silica gel (kg kg1) o outlet
qN limiting amount of water in silica gel (kg kg1) PCB passive chilled beams
Qaux heat output of auxiliary heater (kW) s silica gel
Qsolar solar thermal gain from evacuated tubes (kW) sa supply air
RH relative humidity of air sv saturated vapor
SF solar fraction w liquid water
Sh Sherwood number v water vapor
T temperature ( C) y total number of time steps in a year for hot water pump
t time (s) in operation
UA overall heat transfer value (kW K1) y0 total number of time steps in a year for adsorption
V air velocity (m s1) chiller in operation

which can be implemented by means of radiant ceiling cooling. discomfort due to cold floor and temperature stratification. Energy
Among different options of solar cooling, adsorption refrigeration saving potential was found for chilled ceiling combined with
is the most feasible one to be used with the conventional solar desiccant cooling in hot and humid climate [10].
collectors, since its driving temperature can be as low as 60  C. By In this study, a solar hybrid air-conditioning system is therefore
applying the strategy of high temperature cooling, the heat-driven proposed for space conditioning in the subtropical cities. The space
adsorption refrigeration can make use of the low grade heat as cooling load (from internal and transmission heat gains, largely
driving source. sensible) is handled by radiant ceiling cooling with chilled water
In view of the condensation potential of radiant cooling in the supplied by the adsorption refrigeration, while the ventilation load
subtropical cities with humid climate, the latent load should be (from humid and hot outdoor air) by the desiccant dehumidifica-
handled separately. A radiant floor cooling system integrated with tion. Then the total building cooling load, the sum of space cooling
dehumidified ventilation was designed for the hot and humid Seoul load and ventilation load, can be fully handled by the proposed
in Korea [9], in which the radiant floor cooling was mainly used to system. This hybrid system uses solar energy to drive the adsorp-
handle the sensible load, while separate dehumidification equip- tion refrigeration cycle and desiccant dehumidification. It is novel
ment for the latent load. However, such design may cause thermal to unite radiant ceiling cooling, adsorption refrigeration and
K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451 2441

2.3. System design of solar hybrid air-conditioning system


Adsorption Radiant Ceiling
Refrigeration Cooling 2.3.1. Sub-systems and components
Solar
Energy Fig. 2 shows the schematic diagram of the solar hybrid air-
Collection conditioning system for high temperature cooling. The major
Desiccant
components of each sub-system are introduced as follows.
Dehumidification Indoor Space

a. Solar energy collection e It has the evacuated tubes as solar


Fig. 1. Block diagram of solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high temperature collectors, hot water storage tank and hot water pump (HWP).
cooling. Evacuated tubes can be applied since there is no freezing
problem in winter under subtropical climate. The solar thermal
desiccant dehumidification together, powered up by solar energy as gain is kept in a hot water storage tank for use by both the
the major energy source. adsorption chiller and the desiccant wheel.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes b. Adsorption refrigeration e It includes the adsorption chiller,
the design of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high cooling tower, auxiliary heater A, chilled water pump (CHWP),
temperature cooling, particularly the involved sub-systems and cooling water pump (CWP) and desorption water pump (DWP).
components for office use. Section 3 presents the development of the c. Desiccant dehumidification e It generally contains the
dynamic simulation models of the solar hybrid air-conditioning desiccant wheel, rotary heat exchanger, auxiliary heater B,
system, in which the system control and operation is thoroughly regenerative water pump (RWP), heating coil, heating coil
considered. Section 4 addresses various performance indicators for valve (HCV), fresh air fan (FAF) and exhaust air fan (EAF). In
system evaluation. Section 5 discusses the results of the year-round addition, supply air coil and supply air valve (SAV) are used to
performances, monthly performances and analysis of primary energy replace the conventional evaporative cooler in desiccant
consumption. Section 6 is the conclusion and recommendation. cooling. In case of using active chilled beams, additional
supply air fan (SAF) and return air fan (RAF) are required. It is
2. Design of solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high because the active chilled beams need sufficient supply air
temperature cooling flow rate, which is found larger than the fresh air flow rate,
for induction of room air flow.
2.1. Configuration of solar hybrid air-conditioning system d. Radiant ceiling cooling e Chilled ceilings are installed inside the
indoor space, and connected to the chilled water pipework of
The proposed solar hybrid air-conditioning system consists of the adsorption chiller. Various types of chilled ceilings would
four sub-systems, they are solar energy collection, adsorption be involved in this study. Chilled water is supplied and
refrigeration, desiccant dehumidification and radiant ceiling cooling, controlled by the chilled ceiling valve (CCV).
as shown in Fig. 1. Solar thermal gain would be acquired to energize
both the adsorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification.
The former would supply chilled water for radiant ceiling cooling, 2.3.2. Building information and space cooling load
which is mainly used to handle the space cooling load. The latter is In this study, a typical office of area 196 m2 with maximum 24
used to handle the ventilation load of the fresh outdoor air supplied occupants was used with a daily occupancy schedule of 10 hours
to the indoor space. Whenever the solar thermal gains are not between 08:00 to 18:00. The total fresh air flow rate was 0.24 m3/s
enough, auxiliary heating will be supplemented in order to effec- based on 10 L/s per occupant. The building cooling load was
tively handle the required building cooling loads. calculated based on the varying ambient conditions to the building
envelope, ventilation rate and internal heat gains. Two internal
2.2. Types of chilled ceilings loading levels of the office, O1 and O2, were involved to analyze
their effects on the performances of the solar hybrid air-condi-
Use of radiant ceiling cooling is getting popular in the European tioning system:
countries in summer [11]. The installation types include chilled
panels, passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. Chilled  O1: Light duty conventional office; and
ceilings apply both the means of radiation and convection for  O2: Heavily equipped high-tech office.
cooling purpose. At low cooling intensity, commonly below 120
W/m2, radiant cooling is effective. If the cooling intensity is above The difference between these two types of office was at the
120 W/m2, radiant cooling should be accompanied with a forced internal heat gains of the office equipment. O1 included general
convective mean in order to satisfy high cooling demand. In this office equipment commonly shared among the staff, like the pho-
study, various kinds of chilled ceilings were involved, and their tocopying machines, computers and printers. In O2, each staff had
features are summarized in Table 1. his own computer, monitor and printer. Heavy-duty photocopying

Table 1
Common types of chilled ceilings.

Type Description Handling cooling Typical radiative


intensity (W/m2) load ratio
Chilled panels The cooling capacity of chilled panels is distributed across the ceiling panels, which embed serpentine <70 0.6
chilled water pipework to enhance heat transfer by radiation.
Passive chilled The passive chilled beams have finned coils inside, but they are not for structural purpose. As compared to 70e120 0.2
beams the chilled panels, the passive chilled beams have more reliance on natural convection for cooling.
Active chilled The active chilled beams also have finned coils inside, like the passive chilled beams, but they make use of >120 0.1
beams forced convection for cooling through induction. So the active chilled beams should be connected with
a supply air stream that is mechanically driven.
2442 K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

a
Evacuated
RWP Tubes
Hot
DWP Water
Auxiliary Storage
Heater A Tank HWP

Cooling
CWP Tower

CCV

Adsorption
Chiller CHWP

SAV Chilled Panels /


Passive Chilled Beams
Rotary
Desiccant Heat
Wheel Exchanger
FAF Indoor
Space
Supply
Heating Air Coil
Coil

EAF

Design with Chilled Panels / Passive Chilled Beams


Auxiliary
Heater B
HCV

b
CCV

SAV Active chilled beams

SAF Indoor
space
Supply RAF
air coil

EAF

Design with Active Chilled Beams

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high temperature cooling: (a) Design with chilled panels/passive chilled beams; (b) Design with active chilled
beams.

machines and other common electric office equipment were also 2.3.3. Design considerations of various components
found in O2. However, the heat gains due to occupants, lighting and The chiller was sized based on a design entering desorption
building envelope in O1 and O2 were exactly the same. According water temperature of 80  C, entering cooling water temperature of
to the Hong Kong design practice [12], O1 and O2 had the 30  C and entering chilled water temperature of 18  C. The
equipment power density of 25 W/m2 and 60 W/m2 respectively. corresponding chiller capacities were 26 kW and 33 kW for O1 and
The estimated space design sensible loads for O1 and O2 were O2 respectively. The flow rates of desorption water pump and
therefore 19 kW and 25 kW based on the design indoor conditions cooling water pump were selected so that the temperature changes
of 25.5  C/60%RH. The design space latent load was determined to after passing through the chiller was around 5  C. The chilled water
be 1 kW in both cases. On the other hand, the ventilation load was pump was selected based on the chilled water temperature drop of
7 kW based on the design outdoor conditions of 33.5  C/68%RH. 3  C, which is typically across the chilled ceilings. The capacity of
K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451 2443

the auxiliary heater was based on the worst situation that all the
Qc
desorption heat needed by the chiller was provided by the auxiliary
heater. Hence, the corresponding values of auxiliary heater A were
56 kW and 69 kW for O1 and O2 respectively.
The desiccant dehumidification cycle was used to fully handle Tcw,i Tcw,o
Condenser
the ventilation load from fresh air, as well as the space latent load,
in order to prevent condensation on the surface of chilled ceiling
equipment. A heating coil capacity of 6 kW was required. The
design regeneration temperature was 80  C and the entering hot Thw,o Tadw,o
water temperature was 85  C. The flow rate for the regenerative
Desorption Adsorption
water pump was selected so that the temperature drop of the hot Qde Qad
chamber chamber
water across the heating coil was 10  C. The capacity of auxiliary
heater B was 7 kW in both O1 and O2. Thw,i Tcw,i
A special design was included in the proposed solar hybrid air-
conditioning system. A supply air coil, which was also operated by
the chilled water from the adsorption chiller, was designed at the Tew,i Tew,o
supply air stream of desiccant dehumidification. If this cooling coil Evaporator
was not included, the supply air temperature could not be effec-
tively controlled at the required level, particularly for the system
using active chilled beams. A supply air coil valve was used to
modulate the amount of chilled water for part-load operation. Qe
When using chilled panels or passive chilled beams, the supply air
coil only cooled the pre-treated fresh air to the design room Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of a two-bed adsorption chiller.
temperature of the office. The space sensible load would then be
handled by the chilled panels or passive chilled beams. When using
active chilled beams, supply air was connected to beam elements d. The heat transfer values of the condenser, evaporator and
for induction purpose, but the design supply air flow would be adsorption/desorption chambers remain constant.
greater than the fresh air requirement. Hence, additional return air e. Same thermal capacity is used for the metal part of condenser,
fan and supply air fan were needed. In this case, part of the space evaporator and adsorption/desorption chambers.
sensible load would be handled by the supply air through the f. The Freundlich equation is employed to calculate the equilib-
supply air coil. rium conditions of the silica gel/water bed in the chamber.

Desorption chamber
3. Development of dynamic simulation models  
Qde ¼ mhw cw Fde Thw;i  Tde (1)
3.1. Modeling details  
Thw;o ¼ Thw;i  Ede Thw;i  Tde (2)
The entire system model was developed on the platform of
 
TRNSYS [13], which is a popular component-based plant simulation UAde
software for research study. The general component models were where Ede ¼ 1  exp (3)
mhw cw
available from TESS [14], which is a set of component libraries for
TRNSYS. However, additional detailed models were built for this    
dTde dqde
study, including the adsorption chiller, desiccant wheel, passive Qde ¼ ½Ms ðcs þ qde cw Þ þ Mam cme   Ms DHa (4)
dt dt
chilled beams and active chilled beams. These additional simula-
tion models were presented in this section. !1
n
N Pde
qde ¼ q (5)
3.1.1. Adsorption chiller Ps;de
The model of adsorption chiller was developed based on the one
Adsorption chamber
from Cho and Kim [15]. There are four major components of
adsorption refrigeration e desorption chamber, adsorption  
Qad ¼ madw cw Ead Tad  Tcw;i (6)
chamber, condenser and evaporator, as shown in Fig. 3. For the
configuration of adsorption cycle, the two-chamber design is  
popular. In each working cycle, one of the chambers was used for Tadw;o ¼ Tcw;i þ Ead Tad  Tcw;i (7)
adsorption while another for desorption. The role of these two
 
chambers would be interchanged in another cycle, so as to maintain UAad
a pseudo-continuous production of refrigeration effect. In this
where Ead ¼ 1  exp (8)
madw cw
study, the adsorption pair was silica gel and water, where silica gel
   
was the adsorbent and water the adsorbate (or refrigerant). In dTad dqad
Qad þ ½Ms ðcs þ qad cw Þ þ Mam cme  þ Ms cv ðTad  Te Þ
model building of the adsorption chiller, the following assumptions dt dt
were made:  
dqad
¼ Ms DHa ð9Þ
dt
a. The adsorption/desorption chambers perform as a lump mass
and reach a quasi-steady state at the end of each time step.
!1
n
Pad
b. The refrigerant leaves the condenser as a saturated liquid. qad ¼ qN (10)
Ps;ad
c. The refrigerant leaves the evaporator as a saturated vapor.
2444 K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

Condenser rotor. Silica gel was used as the desiccant material. The following
assumptions were made:
 
Qc ¼ mcw cw Ec Tc  Tcw;i (11)
a. The rotor is fabricated as a honeycomb structure with equal
  size and shape for each air channel.
Tcw;o ¼ Tcw;i þ Ec Tc  Tcw;i (12)
b. The rotor material is homogeneous.
  c. All the air channels are adiabatic.
UAc d. Thermal and hygroscopic capacitance effects are neglected.
where Ec ¼ 1  exp (13)
mcw cw e. The thermal properties of all the materials are constant.
    f. The heat and mass transfer coefficients between the air stream
dTc dqde
Qc þ Mcm cme ¼ Ms ½cv ðTad  Tc Þ þ DHv  (14) and the desiccant wall are constant.
dt dt
Assuming a sine curve profile for the air channel, the perimeter,
Evaporator
Lp, and cross-sectional area, A, of the air channel are given by:
 
Qe ¼ mew cw Ee Tew;i  Te (15) 2
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 3 þ ð2b
ap
  Lp z2b þ 2 b2 þ ðapÞ 2
 2 (20)
Tew;o ¼ Tew;i  Ee Tew;i  Te (16) 4 þ a2bp
 
UAe
where Ee ¼ 1  exp (17) and A ¼ 2ab (21)
mew cw
where a and b are the half height and width of the air channel.
     
dqde dqad dTe System mass balance
Qe  Ms cw ðTc  Te Þ ¼ Ms DHv þ Mcm cme
dt dt dt
vY vY vq
(18) þV þ u1 ¼ 0 (22)
vt vz vt
Qe
COP ¼ (19) fs
Qde where u1 ¼ (23)
2Ara
To determine the dynamic performance of the chiller, Eqs. (1)e(19)
were solved implicitly using the Gauss-Seidel iteration method for Mass transfer rate at the desiccant wall
each time step. The derivatives were expressed in finite difference vq  
form. Tables 2 and 3 summarize the simulation parameters of þ u2 Yeq  Y ¼ 0 (24)
vt
adsorption chiller and the related hydronic systems.
2Ky P
3.1.2. Desiccant wheel where u2 (25)
fs
The model developed by Zhang et al. [16] was adopted in this
study, it was a one-dimensional analysis neglecting the heat and System energy balance
mass transfer in the radial and circumferential directions of the vTa vTa vTs  
þV þ u3 ¼ u4 Y  Yeq (26)
vt vz vt
Table 2
Parameter values of adsorption chiller. fs ðcs þ qcw Þ þ fmat cmat
where u3 ¼ (27)
O1 O2
2Ara ðca þ Ycv Þ
Specific heat capacity of metal (kJ kg1 K1) 0.448
Specific heat capacity of silica gel (kJ kg1 K1) 0.92 Ky P DHa
Specific heat capacity of liquid water (kJ kg1 K1)
u4 ¼ (28)
4.19 Ara ðca þ Ycv Þ
Specific heat capacity of water vapor (kJ kg1 K1) 1.866
Specific heat of adsorption (kJ kg1) 2.800
Regenerative water mass flow rate per stage (kg s1) 1.2 1.5 Table 3
Cooling water mass flow rate per stage (kg s1) 0.7 0.8 Parameter values of the related hydronic systems for adsorption chiller.
Adsorption chamber water mass flow rate per stage (kg s1) 1.2 1.5
O1 O2
Chilled water mass flow rate per stage (kg s1) 1.05 1.3
Mass of metal in adsorption/desorption chamber per stage (kg) 60 80 Cooling water system
Mass of silica gel in adsorption/desorption chamber 30 40 Cooling tower air volume flow rate (m3 s1) 2.640 3.333
per stage (kg) Cooling tower fan head (Pa) 200
Mass of metal in condenser coil per stage (kg) 75 90 Cooling tower fan efficiency 65%
Mass of metal in evaporator coil stage (kg) 75 90 Cooling water pipe (diameter  length) (mm  m) 80  100
Overall heat transfer value of adsorption chamber 3.5 4.5 Cooling water pump efficiency 60%
per stage (kW K1) Cooling water pump head (kPa) 118 126
Overall heat transfer value of desorption chamber 3.5 4.5
Chilled water system
per stage (kW K1)
Chilled water pipe (diameter  length) (mm  m) 65  100
Overall heat transfer value of condenser coil per stage (kW K1) 3.0 4.0
Chilled water pump efficiency 60%
Overall heat transfer value of evaporator coil per stage (kW K1) 2.5 3.5
Chilled water pump head (kPa) 118 128
Maximum adsorbate intake in Freundlich equation 0.552
Exponent in Freundlich equation 1.6 Desorption water system
Initial temperature of adsorbent bed ( C) 20 Desorption water pipe (diameter  length) (mm  m) 65  10
Ratio of initial absorbate intake to maximum absorbate intake 0.7 Desorption water pump efficiency 60%
Adsorption/desorption period (s) 360 Desorption water pump head (kPa) 72.5 73.5
K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451 2445

Heat transfer rate at the desiccant wall Table 4


Parameter values of desiccant dehumidification.
vTs    
þ u5 ðTs  Ta Þ þ u6 Yeq  Y þ u7 Yeq  Y ðTa  Ts Þ ¼ 0 (29) Fresh air stream
vt Fresh air mass flow rate (kg s1) 0.288
Fresh air fan efficiency 65%
2hLp Fresh air fan head (Pa) 750
where u5 ¼ (30)
fs ðcs þ qcw Þ þ fmat cmat Exhaust air stream
Exhaust air mass flow rate (kg s1) 0.259
Exhaust air fan efficiency 65%
2Ky Lp DHa
u6 ¼ (31) Exhaust air fan head (Pa)
Overall heat transfer value of heating coil (kW K1)
500
fs ðcs þ qcw Þ þ fmat cmat 1.0

Rotary heat exchanger


2Ky Lp cv Temperature effectiveness of rotary heat exchanger 0.8
u7 ¼ (32) Rotary heat exchanger power consumption (kW) 0.1
fs ðcs þ qcw Þ þ fmat cmat
Desiccant wheel
Specific heat capacity of air (kJ kg1 K1) 1.005
Nua ka Lp Specific heat capacity of metal (kJ kg1 K1) 0.9
h ¼ (33)
4A Specific heat capacity of water vapor (kJ kg1 K1) 2.028
Specific latent heat of vaporization of water (kJ kg1) 2,400
Thermal conductivity of air (W m1 K1) 0.0321
Sha DLp
Ky ¼ ra (34) Density of air (kg m3) 1.2
4A Mass per unit length of matrix material in desiccant wheel (kg m1) 0.003
Mass per unit length of silica gel in desiccant wheel (kg m1) 0.005
  Half height of air channel (m) 0.0015
2:256 Ta þ 273:13 1:81
D ¼ (35) Half width of air channel (m) 0.0015
Pa 256 Nusselt number of air 4.364
Sherwood number 4.364
According to San [17], the heat of adsorption ðDHa Þ can be deter- Air pressure (Pa) 101,325
mined from: Outer diameter of desiccant wheel (m) 0.6
  Effective area ratio of desiccant wheel 0.744
DHa ¼ DHv 1 þ 0:2843e10:28q (36) Fraction of wheel area for regeneration 0.5
Length of desiccant wheel (m) 0.2
Desiccant wheel speed (rph) 13
The equilibrium humidity ratio (Yeq) is the humidity ratio of the
Number of discretization segments along the air channel length 20
air in equilibrium with the desiccant and can be computed from: Desiccant wheel power consumption (kW) 0.1

0:62188RHeq
Yeq ¼ (37) flow rate mew and the temperature difference between the room air
Pa =Psv  RHeq
Troom and the chilled water Tew,s. For the active chilled beams, the
where the equilibrium relative humidity (RHeq) is given by Pesaran supply air flow rate V_ sa was also required. The cooling capacity of
and Mills [18,19] as: the passive chilled beams QPCB and that of active chilled beams QACB
can be expressed in Eqs. (40) and (41) respectively as follows:
RHeq ¼ 0:0078  0:05759q þ 24:16554q2  124:78q3  
QPCB ¼ Q Tew;o ; mew ; Troom (40)
þ 204:226q4 (38)
 
and the saturated vapor pressure of water is determined from the QACB ¼ Q Tew;o ; mew ; Troom ; V_ sa (41)
Antonine equation as
  In Eq. (41), the QACB was only the cooling effect from the chilled
3816:44 beam coils, and excluded that from the supply air. Table 6
Psv ¼ exp 23:196  (39)
Ts  46:13 summarizes the simulation parameters of radiant ceiling cooling.
To determine the dynamic performance of the desiccant wheel, the
derivatives in Eqs. (22), (24), (26) and (29) were replaced by finite Table 5
Parameter values of special design for desiccant dehumidification.
difference expressions and solved implicitly using the Gauss-Seidel
iteration method for each time step. The air channel was divided O1 O2
into various length segments, and the heat and mass transfer Supply air stream (only for active chilled beams)
calculated segments by segments. To enhance the stability and Supply air mass flow rate (kg s1) 1.008 1.344
Supply air fan efficiency 65%
convergence of the iteration, the four differential equations were
Supply air fan head (Pa) 200
divided into two groups [Eqs. (22) and (24); Eqs. (26) and (29)], and
each group was then solved alternately by direct matrix inversion Return air stream (only for active chilled beams)
Return air mass flow rate (kg s1) 0.72 1.056
method until convergence was reached. Tables 4 and 5 summarize
Return air fan efficiency 65%
the simulation parameters of desiccant dehumidification and those Return air fan head (Pa) 100
for its special design.
Supply air coil
Face area of cooling coil with active chilled beams (m2) 0.42 0.54
3.1.3. Chilled ceilings Face area of cooling coil with chilled panels or passive 0.24
For the chilled panels, the built-in active layer specification in chilled beams (m2)
the standard multi-zone model (Type56) of TRNSYS was applied to Regenerative water system
determine their performances [20]. For the passive and active Regenerative water pump flow rate (kg s1) 0.15
chilled beams, interpolation and correction models based on Regenerative water pipe (diameter  length) (mm  m) 20  10
catalogue data provided by the manufacturers were used [21,22]. Regenerative water pump efficiency 60%
Regenerative water pump head (kPa) 43
Generally, the capacity was determined by the rated chilled water
2446 K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

Table 6 was below the design value, the set point would step down if the
Parameter values of radiant ceiling cooling. water temperature dropped more than 1  C after one simulation
O1 O2 time step.
Chilled panels used Full area of ceiling To prevent the formation of condensation on the surface of
Numbers of passive ceiling beams used 42 54 chilled ceilings, a dew controller with hysteresis was used which
Numbers of active chilled beams used 24 32 monitored the difference between the chilled water temperature
entering the chilled ceilings and the room dew point. The dew
controller was “on” when the temperature difference exceeded 4  C
3.1.4. Solar energy collection and “off” when the temperature difference dropped below 1  C. To
For the sub-system of solar energy collection, the efficiency further reduce the chance of condensation on the surface of chilled
coefficients of evacuated tubes were determined by [23]. The total ceilings, the adsorption chiller was divided into two stages. The
area of evacuated tubes was 100 m2, and the size of the hot water chiller would be operated at its half cooling capacity in the first
storage tank was 5 m3. The flow rate for the hot water pump would stage, while at full capacity in the second stage. If the chiller was in
be the same as the summed total for desorption water pump and half capacity hence the chilled water supply temperature was
regenerative water pump. Table 7 summarizes the simulation higher, the occurrence of condensation would be prevented. The
parameters of the sub-system of solar energy collection. chiller staging was determined by the temperature difference,
which changed from the second stage to the first stage when the
3.2. System control and operation temperature difference was below 2  C. By using both the dew
controller and the chiller staging, condensation on the surface of
Since it was a dynamic simulation, control and operation should be chilled ceilings could be avoided.
carefully designed and incorporated. As discussed before, the solar The chiller and the cooling water pump were turned on when
hybrid air-conditioning system had four sub-systems, the control and both the auxiliary heater controller and the dew controller were
operation was designed for each of them in response to different switched on and that the desorption water temperature was higher
climatic and loading conditions. Interrelationship of control and than a preset minimum at 60  C, which was taken as 5  C lower
operation among the four sub-systems was also essential. than the minimum set point for the auxiliary heater. The operation
of the cooling tower would be additionally governed by a thermo-
3.2.1. Solar energy collection stat with hysteresis between 15 and 20  C based on the cooling
The temperature inside the hot water tank would be higher than water temperature leaving the chiller when the chiller was on. The
the temperature inside the solar collectors in case of weak solar chilled water pump would be running during the entire daily
irradiation, and the solar collectors would dissipate the stored heat operating period.
to the surrounding and cause waste. To avoid this, the hot water
pump, used to circulate hot water between the evacuated tubes and 3.2.3. Desiccant dehumidification for various chilled ceilings
the hot water tank within the daily occupancy schedule, would be A proportional controller was used to determine the operation
controlled by a solar pump controller using a hysteresis loop of the desiccant dehumidification system. The controller would
control. When the temperature at the solar collector outlet excee- output a signal from 0 to 1 when the zone humidity ratio increased
ded the water temperature inside the hot water tank by 5  C, the from a preset minimum of 0.01 kg/kg to a preset maximum of
hot water pump would be switched on until the temperature 0.012 kg/kg. With the controller “on” during the daily operating
difference dropped to zero. The temperature sensor was designed period, the regenerative water pump and the auxiliary heater
at the main hot water pipe immediately before connecting to the would function. The desiccant wheel, the heating coil, the rotary
hot water tank, so the thermal loss between the location of the heat exchanger and the exhaust air fan would only operate when
temperature sensor and the hot water tank could be neglected, and the regenerative water temperature was higher than a preset
the operational control of the hot water pump could be effective. minimum (60  C, which was taken as 5  C lower than the
minimum set point for the auxiliary heater) even if the propor-
3.2.2. Adsorption refrigeration and interrelationship with radiant tional controller was “on”. The capacity of the heating coil was
ceiling cooling governed by a three-way heating coil valve using the proportional
The adsorption chiller supplied chilled water to both the supply controller. To enhance the stability of iteration in simulation
air coil and the chilled ceilings. The auxiliary heater A and the process, the heating coil valve would be opened at least 10% when
desorption water pump for the adsorption chiller were controlled the room humidity ratio exceeded the preset minimum. To reduce
by a thermostat with hysteresis according to the return chilled the utilization of the auxiliary heating, a part-load controller was
water temperature. Again, a part-load controller was used which used which modulated the set point of the auxiliary heater
modulates the set point of the auxiliary heater between the pre- between the pre-determined minimum of 65  C and maximum of
determined minimum of 65  C and maximum of 80  C in 5 steps. 85  C in 5 steps. The set point started at the minimum value when
The set point started at minimum value when the chilled water the supply air humidity ratio exceeded the design value of 0.01 kg/
return temperature exceeded the design value, and stepped up if kg, and stepped up if the humidity ratio dropped less than
the water temperature dropped less than 1  C after one simulation 0.0001 kg/kg after one simulation time step. Conversely, when the
time step. Conversely, when the chilled water return temperature supply air humidity ratio was below the design value, the set point
would step down if the humidity ratio dropped more than
Table 7 0.0001 kg/kg after one simulation time step. The fresh air fan,
Parameter values of solar energy collection. supply air fan and return air fan (if applicable) would be in oper-
O1 O2 ation during the entire daily operating period.
Area of evacuated tubes (m2) 100
Hot water mass flow rate (kg s1) 2.55 3.15 3.2.4. Radiant ceiling cooling and interrelationship with adsorption
Hot water pump head (kPa) 47 56 chiller
Hot water pipe (diameter  length) (mm  m) 65  100 The cooling capacity of chilled ceilings was controlled by
Hot water pump efficiency 60%
a three-way chilled ceiling valve using a proportional controller
K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451 2447

which generated a signal from 0 to 1 when the room temperature Qsolar


SF ¼ (42)
lied between the preset minimum of 24.5  C and maximum of Qsolar þ Qaux
26.5  C. To enhance the stability of the computer iteration in
dynamic simulation, the chilled ceiling valve would be opened at where, Qaux ¼ heat output of auxiliary heater (kW).
least 30% when the room temperature exceeded the preset The total amount of energy input is supplemented by auxiliary
minimum. The chilled water entering the supply air coil was heating. Higher SF means greater effectiveness of solar energy
controlled by a three-way valve which opened fully when the collection for the hybrid air-conditioning system. The SF would be
radiant panel controller was on and that the chilled water supply averaged in monthly or yearly basis. It would be based on the SF
temperature was lower than the air temperature entering the coil. acquired at each time step when solar thermal gain was produced
When active chilled beams were used, the return and supply air when the hot water pump was in operation. The monthly averaged
fans would operate within the entire daily occupancy period. SFavg,m and yearly averaged SFavg,y are expressed below:
The adsorption chiller was used to handle the space sensible load, Pm
i¼1 SFi
and also provide auxiliary cooling to cool the hot dehumidified fresh SFavg;m ¼ (43)
air to the required room temperature. For a solar air-conditioning m
system, the chilled water supply temperature should be as high as where, m ¼ total number of time steps in a month for hot water
possible in order to reduce the driving heat hence to achieve a higher pump in operation.
COP. However, a higher chilled water supply temperature would Py
lower the cooling capacities of the chilled ceilings, and more radiant i¼1
SFi
SFavg;y ¼ (44)
panels/beams should be used. This would cause another problem in y
the case of using active chilled beams, since a larger supply air flow
where, y ¼ total number of time steps in a year for hot water pump
was needed to handle the space cooling load. To compromise this,
in operation.
the design chilled water supply temperature would be lower (18  C)
COP is commonly used to represent the effectiveness of refriger-
when active chilled beams were used, while a higher temperature
ation cycle. For the adsorption chiller, the COP is defined as follows:
(20  C) was used for chilled panels or passive chilled beams.
Consequently, the settings for the auxiliary heater controller and the Qe
part-load controller of the adsorption chiller would be different. COP ¼ (45)
Qde
With active chilled beams, the part-load controller would modulate
based on a design chilled water return temperature of 21  C, and the The COP would also be averaged in monthly or yearly basis. It
auxiliary heater controller would toggle between 19 to 22  C for the would be based on the COP acquired at the time step during the
chilled water return temperature. In case of chilled panels or passive adsorption chiller in operation. The monthly averaged COPavg,m and
chilled beams, the part-load controller would modulate based on yearly averaged COPavg,y are formulated below:
a design chilled water return temperature of 23  C, and the auxiliary
Pm0
heater controller would toggle between 21 to 24  C for the chilled i¼1 COPi
COPavg;m ¼ (46)
water return temperature. m0
where, m0 ¼ total number of time steps in a month for adsorption
4. Performance evaluation chiller in operation.
Py0
The system simulation was made for one year based on the i¼1
COPi
COPavg;m ¼ (47)
Typical Meteorological Year of Hong Kong [24] using a simulation y0
time step of 6 minutes. In order to effectively evaluate the solar
hybrid air-conditioning system associated with various chilled where, y0 ¼ total number of time steps in a year for adsorption
ceilings in the two types of offices, the following performance chiller in operation.
metrics were involved in this study: Since two different types of energy sources, electricity and gas,
were involved in driving the solar hybrid air-conditioning system, it
 Solar fraction, SF; is more appropriate to use the primary energy consumption for
 Coefficient of performance of adsorption chiller, COP; energy comparison. To determine primary energy consumption,
 Solar thermal gain from evacuated tubes, Qsolar; the energy efficiencies for electricity and gas conversion are
 Primary energy consumption, Ep; and assumed below:
 Room conditions, including room temperature, Troom, relative
humidity RH, and hour of over-temperature hOT  energy efficiency for electrical energy converted into primary
energy, he ¼ 33%;
SF is the ratio of solar energy contribution to the total energy  energy efficiency for gas energy converted into primary energy,
required to drive the solar hybrid air-conditioning system as follows: hg ¼ 90%.

Table 8
Year-round performances of solar hybrid air-conditioning system for high temperature cooling.

System type O1 O2

SFavg,y COPavg,y Yearly Qsolar Yearly Ep,total Troom ( C)/RH SFavg,y COPavg,y Yearly Qsolar Yearly Ep,total Troom ( C)/RH
(kWh) (kWh) (%)/hOT (h) (kWh) (kWh) (%)/hOT (h)
Chilled panels 0.614 0.564 67,553 71,529 29.0/43/2472.2 0.528 0.559 70,373 99,938 31.1/38/2913.2
Passive chilled beams 0.754 0.558 65,668 44,764 25.4/53/1.4 0.616 0.554 69,260 75,309 25.6/53/2.4
Active chilled beams 0.689 0.548 66,059 60,943 25.0/53/1.6 0.568 0.546 69,270 94,371 25.2/53/2.4
Air-cooled chiller N/A N/A N/A 84,888 N/A N/A N/A N/A 108,577 N/A
Water-cooled chiller N/A N/A N/A 77,738 N/A N/A N/A N/A 98,167 N/A
2448 K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

Fig. 4. Annual profiles of solar fraction of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system using various chilled ceilings for office types O1 (a) and O2 (b). (Abbreviation: cp: chilled panels;
pcb: passive chilled beams; acb: active chilled beams).

Then the primary energy consumptions for different cases are 5. Results and discussions
determined as follows:
5.1. Year-round performances
Ep;water ¼ Ee;water =he (48)
Table 8 shows the year-round performances of the solar hybrid
Ep;air ¼ Ee;air =he (49) air-conditioning system associated with various chilled ceilings for
both types of office O1 and O2. The performance metrics include
Ep;aux ¼ Eg;aux =hg (50) the SF, COP, Qsolar, Ep and indoor conditions. In general, the trends of
these performance metrics of the office types O1 and O2 are the
same. Table 8 also includes the yearly Ep,total of the conventional air-
Ep;total ¼ Ep;water þ Ep;air þEp;aux (51) conditioning system using vapour compression chillers at normal
chilled water supply temperature of 7  C to maintain the same
where, Ep,water ¼ primary energy consumption of water side indoor design conditions. Since it is of the first importance to justify
equipment, including all the pumps and cooling tower (kWh); the feasibility of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system, its
Ee, water ¼ electrical energy consumption of water side equipment primary energy consumption is benchmarked with that of the
(kWh); Ep,air ¼ primary energy consumption of air side equipment, conventional air-conditioning systems. As a normal practice for
including all the fans (kWh); Ee, air ¼ electrical energy consumption medium office application, the rated COP of 2.4 and 3.0 are
of air side equipment (kWh); Ep,aux ¼ primary energy consumption assumed for air-cooled and water-cooled chiller respectively.
of auxiliary heating (kWh); Eg,aux ¼ gas energy consumption of From Table 8, it is found that energy saving can be achieved in the
auxiliary heating (kWh); Ep,total ¼ primary energy consumption of solar hybrid air-conditioning system with all the chilled ceiling types
entire solar hybrid air-conditioning system (kWh). as compared to the air-cooled vapor compression system. In case of
The year-round averaged values of room conditions, Troom and the water-cooled vapor compression system, only the adoption of
RH, were used to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of chilled panels would require more primary energy in O2. In fact, the
chilled ceilings for achieving the comfortable indoor conditions. For option of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system with chilled
solar air-conditioning, it may happen that the primary energy panels should be rejected, since its average Troom are 29.0  C and
consumption is low but the indoor conditions cannot be main- 31.1  C for O1 and O2 respectively, which cannot achieve the
tained for thermal comfort. In order to prevent from being misled required indoor conditions and provide thermal comfort. The same
by the averaging effect of Troom and RH, hOT was therefore included problem is also reflected by hOT, which are 2472.2 h and 2913.2 h for
as a performance metric in room conditions. hOT is the number of O1 and O2 respectively, supporting how ineffective the chilled
air-conditioning hours with Troom above the upper limit of comfort panels are. In view of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system with
temperature 27  C for the office environment. the passive or active chilled beams, it has definite energy saving

Fig. 5. Annual profiles of COP of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system using various chilled ceilings for office types O1 (a) and O2 (b).
K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451 2449

Fig. 6. Annual profiles of solar thermal gain of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system using various chilled ceilings for office types O1 (a) and O2 (b).

potential. The yearly Ep,total of the hybrid system using passive 5.2.1. Solar fraction
chilled beams are 47.3% and 42.4% less than that of the conventional Fig. 4 shows the profiles of SFavg,m of the solar hybrid air-
air-cooled and water-cooled systems for O1 respectively, and 30.6% conditioning system with various chilled ceilings throughout a year,
and 23.3% less for O2 respectively. As a result, the technical feasibility both office types O1 and O2 have a similar changing pattern, except
of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system is assured. the values are generally lower in O2. The SFavg,m from May to
Regarding the average room temperature and relative humidity, September are comparatively lower, and the SFavg,m reaches the
both the passive and active chilled beams can achieve the design minimum in June. Since this is a typical summer period in the
conditions. As compared with the active chilled beams, it is found subtropical region, and the cooling demand is generally high.
that the adoption of passive chilled beams results in a higher SFavg,y Throughout the entire year, the solar hybrid system using passive
and lower yearly Ep,total. This is because the better chiller COPavg,y chilled beams has clearly the best performance in solar fraction as
results in less frequent heat demand of desorption. The Ep,total with compared to the other two types of chilled ceilings.
passive chilled beams is 26.6% and 20.2% less than that with active
chilled beams for O1 and O2 respectively. Although the Qsolar is 5.2.2. Coefficient of performance
lower with passive chilled beams, this shows that the thermal Fig. 5 presents the annual profiles of the COPavg,m of the solar
energy acquired is already enough to energize the hybrid air- hybrid air-conditioning system with various chilled ceilings for
conditioning system for achieving the indoor design conditions. office types O1 and O2. Although there is variation throughout
Consequently, using passive chilled beams is the best choice for a year, the range is quite narrow, only from 0.533 to 0.590 for O1;
the solar hybrid air-conditioning system applied in the sub-tropical and from 0.525 to 0.597 for O2. Although the COPavg,m is the best
regions like Hong Kong. The proposed system can be applied in with chilled panels in O1 or O2, it is very close to the other types of
both the office types O1 and O2 with satisfactory performances. The chilled ceilings. Such narrow range of COPavg,m is due to the support
additional merits of passive chilled beams, like silent operation and of auxiliary heating for desorption of adsorption chiller. In this
free of draft, make this choice more attractive. study, COP is not an effective performance metric for system
comparison as auxiliary heating is involved.
5.2. Monthly performances
5.2.3. Solar thermal gain
The results of year-round performances have provided an Fig. 6 illustrates the profiles of monthly solar thermal gain of the
overall picture of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system associ- solar hybrid air-conditioning system for office types O1 and O2
ated with various chilled ceilings. More characteristics of the throughout a year. It is found that the annual profiles are alike for
system performances can be found from the annual profiles of SF, various types of chilled ceilings in O1 and O2. This shows that the
COP, Qsolar and Ep,total. Each type of annual profile for office types O1 solar thermal gain is less dependent on the types of air-conditioning,
and O2 are viewed side by side in order to have a better contrast. instead it is mainly related to the solar energy collection, which

Fig. 7. Annual profiles of total primary energy consumption of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system using various chilled ceilings for office types O1 (a) and O2 (b).
2450 K.F. Fong et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2439e2451

Table 9
Breakdown of yearly total of primary energy consumption of solar hybrid air-conditioning system.

Chilled ceiling O1 O2
type
Ep,water (kWh) Ep,air (kWh) Ep,aux (kWh) Ep,total (kWh) Ep,water (kWh) Ep,air (kWh) Ep,aux (kWh) Ep,total (kWh)
Chilled panels 19,904 ([20.0%) 4380 ([0.4%) 47,245 ([98.4%) 71,529 ([59.8%) 25,484 ([11.4%) 4400 70,055 ([45.8%) 99,938 ([32.7%)
Passive chilled 16,588 4361 23,815 44,764 22,871 4402 48,036 75,309
beams
Active chilled 19,466 ([17.3%) 8232 ([88.8%) 33,247 ([39.6%) 60,943 ([36.1%) 26,124 ([14.2%) 9670 ([119.7%) 58,578 ([21.9%) 94,371 ([25.3%)
beams

makes use of evacuated tubes in this study. From the annual profiles, consists of the evacuated tubes for solar energy collection,
the solar thermal gain is high from July to October, which includes adsorption refrigeration, desiccant dehumidification and radiant
the mid-summer and early autumn in the subtropical region. It ceiling cooling. The system performances were thoroughly evalu-
seems not matched to the annual profiles of solar fraction in Section ated through different indicators, including solar fraction, coeffi-
5.2.1. This is because the variation of solar fraction is due to the cient of performance, solar thermal gain, primary energy
cooling demand in the hot season from May to September, while the consumption and room conditions. In addition, two common office
change of solar thermal gain follows the solar irradiation availability, types were involved in this study, in order to make sure the
which is high from July to October in the subtropical region. application potential of the solar hybrid air-conditioning system.
Although the conventional solar collectors may not have instant
5.2.4. Primary energy consumption solar thermal gain to provide high grade heat for driving a ther-
Fig. 7 shows the annual profiles of Ep,total of the solar hybrid air- mally-driven refrigeration cycle, it can be effective for high
conditioning system with various chilled ceilings for the office temperature cooling in building space conditioning.
types O1 and O2. The variation of profiles for O1 and O2 is similar, Among the three common types of chilled ceilings, namely the
except the values are generally jacked up by about 20% in O2. This is chilled panels, passive chilled beams and active chilled beams, it is
because the cooling demand hence the chiller capacity is also about not effective to design with chilled panels due to thermal comfort
20% higher in O2. The Ep,total from May to September is high in problem. The system with either passive or active chilled beams can
a year, that matches the change of SFavg,m in Section 5.2.1. The Ep,total generally achieve the indoor design conditions. However, the yearly
with passive chilled beams is the lowest in O1 or O2, indicating its primary energy consumption with active chilled beams can be up to
energy saving potential among various types of chilled ceilings. 36.1% more than that with passive chilled beams, so the option of
passive chilled beams is more energy-efficient to work with the solar
5.3. Analysis of primary energy consumption for various chilled hybrid air-conditioning system. Through the solar hybrid air-
ceilings conditioning system, it can provide a definite alternative to the
places where air-conditioning is indispensable. Since the percentage
In order to understand deeply how the primary energy of energy consumption of air-conditioning is substantial in office
consumption with passive chilled beams can be the lowest, Table 9 buildings, wider application of solar air-conditioning is a sustainable
shows the breakdown of yearly primary energy consumption of the solution in the subtropical cities, like Hong Kong in this study. For the
solar hybrid air-conditioning system, including Ep,water, Ep,air, and Ep, continual population and economic growth, use of solar energy in
air-conditioning would secure the increasing energy demand.
aux according to Eqs. (48)e(51). As compared to the passive chilled
beams, the Ep,total with chilled panels is 59.8% and 32.7% higher for In practical applications of solar hybrid air-conditioning system
O1 and O2 respectively. This is mainly due to significant demand of in buildings, prevention of condensation is of primary importance.
Ep,aux for the chilled panels, which is 98.4% higher for O1 and 45.8% Generally the involvement of desiccant dehumidification can
higher for O2. The chilled panels do not only have the demerit of control the humidity at the design level. The infiltration problem of
greater Ep,total, they cannot provide comfortable indoor environ- building envelope can be avoided by good quality of building
ment as mentioned in Section 5.1, so it is not feasible to design the materials and workmanship, together with design of positive air
solar hybrid air-conditioning system with chilled panels. pressurization indoors. In order to realize the solar hybrid air-
With reference to the passive chilled beams, the Ep,total with conditioning system to be a green solution for space conditioning,
active chilled beams is 36.1% and 25.3% higher for O1 and O2 there are still practical issues to be considered, like the spatial
respectively. This is mainly due to substantial demand of Ep,air for requirement of solar energy collection and the concern of payback
the active chilled beams, which is 88.8% higher for O1 and 119.7% period. Continual research will be carried out in order to make the
higher for O2. From the design with active chilled beams, it is solar hybrid air-conditioning system more attractive.
natural to have greater primary energy consumption because of the
two additional fans, SAF and RAF. Although the solar hybrid air- Acknowledgement
conditioning system with active or passive chilled beams can
provide the required indoor conditions, it is obvious that the latter The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant
is more preferable due to the sustainable merit of lower primary from City University of Hong Kong (Strategic Research Grant,
energy consumption. Project No. 7002503).

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