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Modelling and Energy Analysis of a Solar Cooling System Powered by a Photovoltaic (PV) System for a Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Using TRNSYS-PVsyst

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Reducing the Effects of Climate Change Using Building-Integrated and Building-Applied Photovoltaics in the Power Supply

Part of the book series: Innovative Renewable Energy ((INREE))

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Abstract

An innovative global strategy to address climate change concerns is the concept of net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs). Designing and choosing a cooling system as the building’s primary energy consumption is one of the most important aspects of NZEBs, particularly in hot and humid regions where thermal comfort conditions are required throughout the year. This chapter aims to evaluate the feasibility of using solar cooling systems powered by photovoltaic (PV) systems in tropical regions in NZEBs. This study’s methodology includes three major sections: building energy audit, solar cooling design, and PV system design. An energy audit was performed on a case study building—a room and a fan coil unit (FCU)—at the National University of Malaysia—or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)—to detect conventional cooling systems’ cooling load and energy consumption. The findings of the energy measurement show that the mechanical dehumidification process required a cooling coil capacity of 7.28 kW, or 56% of the total cooling coil capacity (13.06 kW) of the FCU, due to the greater percentage of latent load (51%) in the room in comparison with sensible load (49%). This challenge leads to the alternative solution for the case study: a chemical dehumidification process coupled with sensible cooling technology. A solar desiccant cooling system was developed through the TRNSYS software, and it was then simulated and experimentally verified. The proposed model could provide thermal comfort while saving 17–37% energy compared to a traditional cooling system, according to the results of the modelling energy analysis. It was also demonstrated that the proposed model could be used as an energy-efficient cooling system with the potential to be powered by a PV system for an NZEB. The PV system’s size, type, and orientation were designed and simulated by the PVsyst software to provide a power supply for the specified cooling system in accordance with power load, Malaysia’s meteorological data, site location, and the nation’s energy policy.

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Abbreviations

AC:

Air-Conditioning

ASHRAE:

American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers

BIPV:

Building Integrated Photovoltaics

CFCs:

Chlorofluorocarbons

CHWR:

Chilled Water Return

CHWS:

Chilled Water Supply

COP:

Coefficient of Performance

DC:

Direct Current

FCU:

Fan Coil Unit

FiT:

Feed-in Tariff

GHGs:

Greenhouse Gases

HDCS:

Hybrid Desiccant Cooling System

HVAC:

Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning

LHR:

Latent Heat Ratio

MBIPV:

Malaysian Building Integrated Photovoltaics

NEM:

Net Energy Metering

NZEB:

Net-Zero Energy Building

PV:

Photovoltaic

SEDA:

Sustainable Energy Development Authority

SHR:

Sensible Heat Ratio

UKM:

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. British Malaysian Institute Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL BMI), Selangor, Malaysia

    Mohammad Mehdi Salehi Dezfouli & Kushsairy Abdul Kadir

  2. Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Alireza Dehghani-Sanij

Authors
  1. Mohammad Mehdi Salehi Dezfouli
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  2. Alireza Dehghani-Sanij
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  3. Kushsairy Abdul Kadir
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alireza Dehghani-Sanij .

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  1. World Renewable Energy Congress & Network (WREC/WREN), Brighton, UK

    Ali Sayigh

Appendix: Effective Weather Data for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Appendix: Effective Weather Data for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Fig. 30
A triple-bar graph plots horizontal diffuse, global horizontal, and horizontal beam irradiations in kilowatt-hours per meter squared from January to December. The global horizontal irradiation was high, and the horizontal beam irradiation was low from January to December.

Solar radiation at site location for one year

Full size image
Fig. 31
A bar graph plots ambient temperature in degrees Celsius from January to December. The ambient temperature was high in May and low in November. The ambient temperature in May is 28.75, and in November it is 26.85.

Temperature profile at site location for one year

Full size image
Fig. 32
A bar graph plots wind velocity in meters per second from January to December. The ambient temperature was high in July and low in November. The wind velocity in July is 1.8, and in November it is 1.4.

Wind velocity profile at site location for one year

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Salehi Dezfouli, M., Dehghani-Sanij, A., Abdul Kadir, K. (2024). Modelling and Energy Analysis of a Solar Cooling System Powered by a Photovoltaic (PV) System for a Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Using TRNSYS-PVsyst. In: Sayigh, A. (eds) Reducing the Effects of Climate Change Using Building-Integrated and Building-Applied Photovoltaics in the Power Supply. Innovative Renewable Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42584-4_14

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