Solar Air Conditioning - Compressor Cooling

Solar compressor coolers are similar to conventional air conditioning or refrigeration systems. However, solar energy is utilized to power the electrical compressor, where air is compressed and heated further before being passed through a condenser where that heat is absorbed and the air is cooled.

In hotter climates the compressor can be bypassed altogether by feeding the heated air directly to the condenser. Better known as absorption chillers or solar absorption coolers, they can drastically reduce energy consumption of the cooling system, making it much more cost effective. There are single-, double-, and triple-effect absorption systems: the more cycles, the more efficient the cooler.

Photovoltaics can also be used to power a conventional, electric compressor-based cooling system. Unfortunately these are largely cost ineffective because of the large amount of power necessary to run these systems. At best PV systems can only provide a portion of the required output for the system on a regular basis. Photovoltaics are used to power compressor-based refrigeration systems, especially in Asia. Even these systems, in hot and sunny climates, still require some sort of backup power to ensure constant cooling.

Compressor Cooling / Swamp Cooling / Solar Misting System / Solar Cooling Tower