Comparative analysis of solar-driven air conditioning units based on vapour compression and ejector cycles

Since cooling demand is closely related to solar radiation, there is an enormous potential in cooling systems that use solar energy. In this paper, the conventional vapour compression (VC) air conditioner powered by photovoltaic panels (PV) was compared to the solar thermal-driven ejector cooling (SECC). To consider the effects of different conditions, three different locations (Copenhagen, Barcelona and Delhi) were included. The comparison showed that the vapour compression cycle was superior to the thermal-driven cycle in every aspect of the comparison and the SECC could not compete to the conventional air conditioning. Interestingly, the addition of solar panels to conventional VC units was shown to be very beneficial, saving up to 9 % on the cost of cooling in the case of Barcelona. This further proves the importance of integration of renewable solar energy and efficient, natural refrigerant-based air conditioning units to face the growing demand of cooling in the most sustainable way possible.