Dynamic simulation and exergy-economic assessment of solar thermal refrigeration systems in different climates

•Solar thermal-assisted air conditioning systems are realized for each climate.•Liquid absorption, solid adsorption and solid desiccant cycles are compared.•Results of this study are applicable to identical climate conditions around the world. In this paper, the performance of solar-thermal cooling systems for air conditioning application is investigated in different climates of Iran. Diverse climate types are considered which makes the results applicable to other countries. Available commercial refrigeration cycles that are capable of integration with solar-thermal collector systems including the closed liquid absorption cycle, closed solid adsorption cycle, and desiccant cycle are studied. First, a solar and climatic map is proposed and the representative cities have been selected for each climate. Then, the climate parameters related to each region are extracted to create an hourly database. Also, the cooling load of a reference building is modeled based on the climate database, each refrigeration cycle is simulated using thermodynamic equations, and the dynamic model is generalized daily for the hot season in each city. In the last step, each cooling system is examined using an exergy-economic analysis, and technical and economic indicators are compared. The results show that the most suitable solar-thermal refrigeration cycle that can be installed in the central plateau and semi-arid areas of Iran is the closed-cycle liquid absorption system. The annual average exergy-economic factor and the annual solar fraction in this cycle are 0.7578 and 0.57, respectively. In the southern coastal areas, due to the high humidity and air temperature in summer, the solid desiccant refrigeration system with an exergy-economic factor of 0.6978 and a solar fraction of 0.2416 is preferred. The suitable solar-thermal refrigeration cycle in the cold and mountainous regions of Iran is a solid adsorption system with a silica gel absorber. The annual solar fraction and average annual exergy-economic factor in this cycle are 0.5158 and 0.7394. Also, in northern moderate regions, the solid adsorption refrigeration system with an average annual exergy-economic factor of 0.409 and average exergy efficiency of 0.12 is comparatively beneficial.