Search results for "solar heating"

A Set of Key Performance Indicators for Solar Heating and Cooling Systems

2017

The application of solar heating and cooling systems for building air-conditioning actually shows a significant potential of exploitation, particularly in sunny regions. The choice whether or not to apply such technologies in different climates should be based on the assessment of their energy/environmental, economic and social sustainability, as well as their technical characteristics as reliability, durability and energy efficiency. To support researchers and decision-makers in the selection of the best solar air-conditioning solution in a specific geographic and energy context, the paper proposes a set of technical, economic, energy/environmental and social key performance indicators. Th…

Life Cycle Assessment of solar heating and cooling systems: the tool “ELISA”

2018

Solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems play an important role in the achievement of energy and climate European goals. The benefits of these technologies should be evaluated taking into account their lifecycle energy and environmental impacts, calculated by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The development of a complete LCA can be difficult and time-consuming particularly for no-LCA experts, discouraging them in the inclusion of the lifecycle perspective in their assessments. To overcome this limit, the paper presents “ELISA - Environmental Lifecycle Impacts of Solar Air-conditioning systems”, a user-friendly simplified tool for estimating the lifecycle energy and envir…

Exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis of a renewable polygeneration system serving a small isolated community

2014

A great interest has been arising in the last decade for the sustainable supply of energy and fresh water, also due to the rapidly growing demand from developing countries. Facing this demand by traditional technologies and fossil energy sources implies evident difficulties and risks, because of the scarcity and high cost of fuels and their relevant environmental impact in terms of local pollution and global warming emissions. Then, the efforts of researchers have been focusing on alternative solutions, either based on the use of renewable energy sources and on innovative plant schemes for the combined and efficient production of several energy and material flows. In this paper an innovativ…

A novel solar trigeneration system integrating Photovoltaic/Thermal collectors and seawater desalination: dynamic simulation and economic assessment

2013

This paper investigates the integration of renewable energy sources and water systems, presenting a novel solar system producing simultaneously: electrical energy, thermal energy, cooling energy and domestic water. The polygeneration system under analysis includes photovoltaic/thermal solar collectors (PVT), a multi-effect distillation (MED) system for seawater desalination, a single-stage LiBr-H2O absorption chiller and additional components, such as storage tanks, auxiliary heaters and balance of plant devices. The PVT produces simultaneously electrical energy and thermal energy, at a maximum temperature of about 100 °C. The electrical energy is delivered to the grid, whereas the thermal …

Influence of greenhouse volume ratio on soil solarization efficiency

2007

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT EXPERIENCES FOR SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS

2018

Solar heating and cooling systems can significantly contribute to the energy and climate European goals. A complete assessment of this contribution needs the analysis of these systems from a life-cycle perspective, in order to estimate the energy and environmental costs of their manufacturing and end-of-life, and to compare these costs with the benefits obtained during operation. A well-established methodology to fulfil this task is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The paper describes some LCA experiences of solar heating and cooling systems, developed within the Task 53 “New generation solar cooling & heating systems (PV or solar thermally driven systems)” of the International Energy A…