Solar photovoltaic-assisted DC vapour compression with a low-cost ice gel thermal battery for off-grid building cooling

Jarimi, Hasila and Wan Roshdan, Wan Nur Adilah and Abdullah, Amirudin and Zheng, Tianhong and Zhang, Yanan and Razak, Tajul Rosli and Riffat, Saffa and Ahmad, Emy Zairah and Abd Rahman, Noor Muhammad and Jamaludin, Mohd Haikal (2024) Solar photovoltaic-assisted DC vapour compression with a low-cost ice gel thermal battery for off-grid building cooling. Journal of Building Engineering, 91. pp. 1-20. ISSN 2352-7102

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Abstract

In off-grid areas where extending the grid is costly, traditional AC powered air conditioning units pose challenges for off-grid photovoltaic PV setups due to expensive inverters and battery storage. This leads to an interest in cost-effective solar-driven DC cooling system. However, its efficiency depends on solar energy availability with limited operation during low solar radiation. This study proposes a solar PV-driven DC vapour compression system with variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and low-cost organic phase change material (PCM) ice gel storage. Preliminary experimental work determined the best operational mode namely, Mode A (PV + Thermal Battery), Mode B (PV-electrical battery-3h + Thermal Battery), Mode C (PV-grid + Thermal Battery), and Mode D (Grid + Thermal Battery). Key performance parameters include the Performance Quality Factor of the PV-powered system SFPVVC, and levelized cost of cooling (LCOC). Mode B was found the best, and due to the system's complex dynamic variation with environmental parameters, a novel simulation approach combining artificial neural network (ANN) and TRNSYS was developed and experimentally validated. Thermal comfort is crucial for healthcare facilities as it promotes patient well-being, enhances staff performance, and is vital for infection control, thus a rural healthcare facility in Malaysia was selected for the simulation case-study. Mode B showed at least 50 % higher SFPVVC compared to grid reliance, with superior LCOC performance, ensuring sustainable cooling despite limited electricity supply. The low-cost ice gel thermal battery reduced the system cost to 0.06 USD/kWh compared to 0.56 USD/kWh without it and 1.01 USD/kWh with grid extension. These findings offer insights for implementing similar sustainable cooling systems in rural areas.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	ANN, Ice gel thermal battery, Levelized cost of cooling, Off-grid cooling, Solar-driven vapour compression, Sustainable rural cooling, TRNSYS
Divisions:	Faculty Of Electrical Technology And Engineering
Depositing User:	Sabariah Ismail
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2024 11:21
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2024 11:21
URI:	http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/27471
Statistic Details:	View Download Statistic

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