Experimental comparison of two solar-driven air-cooled LiBr/H2O

Experiments were run to compare an indirectly air-cooled commercial absorption chiller to a directly air-cooled absorption chiller prototype. Both were 4.5-kW, 1-m³, single-effect LiBr–H₂O chillers. The trials were conducted at outdoor dry bulb temperatures ranging from 28 to 37 °C. The maximum allowable generator inlet temperature in the commercial chiller (to prevent salt crystallisation) was 105 °C, while in the prototype it was 120 °C. The commercial chiller delivered chilled water at 18 °C and the prototype at 16 °C. The mean daily COP_th was 0.55 in the commercial chiller, compared to 0.62 in the prototype. The mean daily COP_elec for the chiller and prototype was 3.5 and 5.3, respectively. The mean daily SCOP for the solar-powered air conditioning facility was around 0.08 in both cases.