Energy, exergy, and cost analysis of solar powered desiccant air conditioning system

In the present work, solar powered desiccant air conditioning system (SPDAC) is operated for two different modes (a) cooling & dehumidification (b) heating & humidification under summer and winter climatic conditions, respectively. The SPDAC consists of evacuated tube solar water heater, silica gel coated heat exchanger, heat exchanger and direct & indirect evaporative cooling unit. The performance of the SPDAC is evaluated in terms of energy & exergy cooling/heating capacity, COP and economic & exergoeconomic feasibility. The energy & exergy cooling capacity and energy & exergy COP of the SPDAC during cooling and dehumidification modes are 648.2 W & 254.1 W, and 0.45 & 0.35, respectively. Whereas, the energy & exergy cooling capacity and energy & exergy COP of the SPDAC during heating and humidification mode are 847.4 W, 427.9 W, 0.87, and 0.45, respectively. The economic and exergoeconomic analysis indicates the reliability of the SPDAC system and also proves to be efficient in terms of payback period (43.8 months). The outcomes demonstrate that the SPDAC is more compelling in heating & humidification mode under winter climatic conditions. The overall results of the system confirmed that the use of silica gel coated heat exchanger is practicable to run the system in both seasons.