Abstract:
Air-conditioning inside residential and commercial buildings shows considerable
amount of energy consumption among other energy consuming components. The present study
is aimed at discussing the performance of desiccant integrated air-conditioning systems using
solar energy and biomass resources through EnergyPlus simulations. Validations of the
selected building and system are done with codes and standards available in the literature.
Conventionally available high grade electricity is used as an auxiliary source. In this work, the
study is carried out for hot-dry and composite climates using desiccant and indirect evaporative
cooling assisted compression and absorption based air-conditioning systems. Performance
parameters in terms of heat energy, electricity consumption and the coefficient of performance
are studied. From the simulation results, it is envisaged that absorption-based air-conditioning
system possesses more electricity saving potential than compression-based system for
achieving the same thermal comfort condition. It is found that, as compared to compressionbased system, 46.57% and 46.14% electricity savings can be acquired using absorption-based
technology for hot-dry and composite climates, respectively.
