H EATIN G A N D C O O LIN G

O F B U ILD IN G S
C alculations of H eating and
H ot W ater Loads in
B Energy
uildings
requirements for space heating or
service water heating can be calculated
from basic conservation of energy
principles.
For example, the heat required to maintain
the interior of a building at a specific
temperature is the total of all heat
transmission losses from the structure and
Heat required to warm and humidify the air
exchange with the environment by
infiltration and ventilation.
 TH E ASH RAE
Comfort in buildings has long been a
subject of investigation by the American
Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-
Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE.
The ASHRAE has developed extensive heat
load calculation procedures embodied in
the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals
[18].
The most frequently used load calculation
procedures will be summarized in this
section; the reader is referred to the
ASHRAE handbook for details.
 H eat loss calculations
for buildings
Figure 7.22 shows the combinations of
temperature and humidity that are required
for human comfort. The shaded area is the
standard U.S. comfort level for sedentary
persons.
Many European countries have human
comfort levels from 3C to 7C below U.S.
levels. If activity of a continuous nature is
anticipated, the comfort zone lies to the left
of the shaded area; if extra clothing is worn,
the comfort zone is displaced similarly.
H eat loss calculations for buildings
C alculation of H eat Loss
It is outside the scope of this book to
describe the details of the heat load
calculations for buildings. However, the
method is described in brief in this section.
For details, one should refer to the ASHRAE
Handbook of Fundamentals [18] or some
textbook on heating and air-conditioning.
Table 7.7 lists the components of heat loss
calculations of a building. Complete tables of
thermal properties of building materials are
on the accompanying website,
ttp://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/978146
6556966, and are numbered from Table
W.7.1 to Table W.7.11.
 Transmission heat losses through attics,
unheated basements, and the like are buffered
by the thermal resistance of the unheated
space.
For example, the temperature of an unheated
attic lies between that of the heated space and
that of the environment. As a result, the ceiling
of a room below an attic is exposed to a smaller
temperature difference and consequent lower
heat loss than the same ceiling without the
attic would be.
The effective conductance of thermal buffer
spaces can easily be calculated by forming an
energy balance on such spaces.
 Exam ple 7.4
Calculate the heat load on a house for
which the wall area is 200 m2, the floor
area is 600 m2, the roof area is 690 m2,
and the window area totals 100 m2. Inside
wall height is 3 m. The construction of the
wall and the roof is shown in Figure 7.23.
Solution
The thermal resistance of the wall shown in
Figure 7.23 can be found by the electrical
resistance analogy as
Rwa = Routside air + Rwood siding +
Rsheathing + Rcomb + Rwall board +
Rinside air
Cross sections of(a) the w alland
(b) the rooffor Exam ple 7.4.
 The heat loss through the windows depends
on whether they are single- or double-glazed.
In this example, single-glazed windows are
installed, and a U factor equal to 4.7 W/m2C
is used. (If double-glazed windows were
installed, the U factor would be 2.4 W/m2C.)
The roof is constructed of 12.7 mm gypsum
wall board, 51 mm foam insulation board, 38
mm still air, 12.7 mm plywood, and asphalt
shingles (wooden beams and roofing paper
are neglected for the simplified calculations
here). Therefore,
 If the respective areas and U factors
are known, the rate of heat loss per
hour for the walls, windows, and roof
can be calculated, assuming that
floor heat loss is negligible:
 If double-glazed windows were used, the total
heat loss would be reduced to 552 W/C.
As shown in Example 2.5, the installation of
double-glazed windows is cost-effective and
repays the energy invested in less than 2
years. Thus, this shows that before installing
an active system to supply the heat
necessary for maintaining adequate comfort
level, energy conservation measures such as
using double-glazed rather than single glazed
windows are the preferred option.
 The inf l
itration and
ventilation rate Q
The infiltration and ventilation rate Q
for this building is assumed to be 0.5
ACH (air changes per hour). The
sensible and latent heat loads of the
infiltration air may be calculated
using the equations given in Table
7.7. Therefore,
 In residential buildings, humidification of
the infiltration air is rarely done.
Neglecting the latent heat, the total rate
of heat loss qtot is the sum of qsensible
and qtr:
qtot = (782 + 300) = 1082 W/C
This calculation is simplified for purposes
of illustration. Heat losses through the
slab surface and edges have been
neglected, for example.
 More refined methods of calculating energy
requirements on buildings do not use the
steady-state assumption used earlier [19].
The thermal inertia of buildings may be
expressly used as a load-leveling device. If so,
the steady-state assumption is not met and
the energy capacitance of the structure must
be considered for accurate results. Many
adobe structures in the U.S. Southwest are
built intentionally to use daytime sun
absorbed by 1 ft thick walls for nighttime
heating, for example.
Internal H eat Sources in
B uildings
Heat supplied to a building to offset energy losses is
derived from both the heating system and internal
heat sources.
Table 7.8 lists the common sources of internal heat
generation or residences.
Commercial buildings such as hospitals, computer
facilities, or supermarkets will have large internal
gains specific to their function.
Internal heat gains tend to offset heat losses from a
building but will add to the cooling load of an air-
conditioning system. The magnitude of the
reduction in heating system operation will be
described in the next section.
Som e Com m on Internalsensible H eat G ains That
Tend to O f s
fet the H eating R equirem ents of
B uildings
D egree-D ay M ethod
The preceding analysis of heat loss from buildings
expresses the loss on a per unit temperature
difference basis (except for unexposed floor slabs).
In order to calculate the peak load and total annual
load for a building, appropriate design temperatures
must be defined for each. The outdoor design
temperature is usually defined statistically, such
that the actual outdoor temperature will exceed the
design temperature 97.5% or 99% of the time over
a long period. The design temperature difference
(T) is then the interior building temperature minus
the outdoor design temperature. The design T is
used for rating nonsolar heating systems, but is not
useful for the selection of solar systems, since solar
systems rarely provide 100% of the energy demand
of a building at peak conditions.
 A more useful index of heating energy demand is the total
annual energy requirement for a building. This quantity is
somewhat more difficult to calculate than the peak load. It
requires knowledge of day-to-day variations in ambient
temperature during the heating season and the
corresponding building heat load for each day. Building heat
loads vary with ambient temperatures, as shown in Figure
7.24. The environmental temperature Tn1, above which no
heat need be supplied to the building, is a few degrees
below the required interior temperature Ti because of
internal heat-generation effects.
The no-load temperature at which internal source generation
qi just balances transmission and infiltration losses can be
determined from the energy balance
qi = UAB(Ti Tnl )
 where UAB is the overall heat loss
coefficient for the building (W/C).
Then

The total annual heat load on the

building, QT, can be expressed as
 Building load profi
le versus am bient
tem perature show ing no-load tem perature Tnl
and desired interior tem perature Ti.
 in which all arguments of the integral are
functions of time. The superscript + indicates
that only positive values are considered. In
practice, it is difficult to evaluate this integral;
therefore, three simplifying assumptions are
made:
1. UAB is independent of time.
2. Tnl is independent of time.
3. The integral can be expressed by the sum.
where n is the day number, and the daily average
temperature T a can be approximated by
1/2(T,max + Ta,min), in which Ta,max and Ta,min
are the daily maximum and minimum temperatures,
respectively.
The quantity (Tnl Ta)+ is called the degree-day
unit.
 The quantity (Tnl Ta)+ is called the degree-
day unit For example, if the average ambient
temperature for a day is 5C and the no-load
temperature is 20C, 15C-days are said to
exist for that day. However, if the ambient
temperature is 20C or higher, 0 degree-days
exist, indicating 0 demand for heating that
day. Degree-day totals for monthly month
(Tnl Ta)+, and annual periods can be used
directly in Equation 7.74 to calculate the
monthly and annual heating energy
requirements.
 In the past, a single value of temperature has been
used throughout the United States as a universal
degree-day base, 65.0F or 18.3C. This practice is
now outdated, since many homeowners and
commercial building operators have lowered their
thermostat settings in response to increased
heating fuel costs, thereby lowering Tnl. Likewise,
warehouses and factories operate well below the
19C level. Therefore, a more generalized
database of degreedays to several bases (values
of Tnl) has been created by the U.S. National
Weather Service (NWS,
http://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/map/viewer/#app=cdo&
cfg=cdo&theme=normals&layers
= 01&node=gis&extent=149.3:20.2:
60.1:69.6&custom=normals).
Exam ple 7.5

A building located in Denver, CO, has

a heat loss coefficient UAB of 1000
kJ/hC and internal heat sources of
4440 kJ/h. If the interior temperature
is 20C (68F), what are the monthly
and annual heating energy
requirements? A gas furnace with
65% efficiency is used to heat the
building.
Solution
In order to determine the monthly
degree-day totals, the no-load
temperature (degreeday
basis) must be evaluated from
Equation 7.72.
Service H ot W ater Load
C alculati
Service hoton
water loads can be calculated
precisely with the knowledge of only a few
variables.
The data required for calculation of hot water
demand are
Water source temperature (Ts)
Water delivery temperature (Td)
Volumetric demand rate (Q)
The energy requirement for service water
heating qhw is given by
qhw(t) = wQ(t)cpw [Td Ts(t)] (7.75)
where
w is the water density
cpw is the specific heat of water
 The demand rate, Q(t), varies in general with
time of day and time of year; likewise, the
source temperature varies seasonally. Source
temperature data are not compiled in a single
reference; local water authorities are the source
of such temperature data.
Few generalized data exist with which to predict
the demand rate Q. Table 7.10 indicates some
typical usage rates for several common building
types. Process water-heating rates are peculiar
to each process and can be ascertained by
reference to process specifications.
Exam ple 7.6

Calculate the monthly energy

required to heat water for a family of
four in Nashville, TN.
Monthly source temperatures for
Nashville are shown in Table 7.11,
and the water delivery temperature
is 60C (140F).
Solar W ater-H eating
System s systems represent the most
Solar water-heating
common application of solar energy at the present
time. Small systems are used for domestic hot water
applications while larger systems are used in
industrial process heat applications. There are
basically two types of water-heating systems: natural
circulation or passive solar system (thermosyphon)
and forced circulation or active solar system. The
natural circulation systems are treated in Chapter 9.
Natural circulation solar water heaters are simple in
design and of low cost. Their application is usually
limited to nonfreezing climates. The natural
circulation systems are treated in Chapter 9. Forced-
circulation water heaters are used in freezing
climates and for commercial and industrial process
heat
Forced-C irculation System s
If a thermosyphon system cannot be used for
climatic, structural, or architectural reasons, a
forced-circulation system is required. Figure 7.25
shows three configurations of forced-circulation
systems: (1) open loop, (2) closed loop, and (3)
closed loop with drainback. In an open-loop system
(Figure 7.25a) the solar loop is at atmospheric
pressure; therefore, the collectors are empty when
they are not providing useful heat.
A disadvantage of this system is the high pumping
power required to pump the water to the collectors
every time the collectors become hot. This
disadvantage is overcome in the pressurized closed-
loop system (Figure 7.25b) since the pump has to
overcome only the resistance of the pipes. In this
system, the solar loop remains filled with water
under pressure.
 In order to accommodate the
thermal expansion of water from
heating, a small (about 2 gal
capacity) expansion tank and a
pressure relief valve are provided in
the solar loop. Because water always
stays in the collectors of this system,
antifreeze (propylene glycol or
ethylene glycol) is required for
locations where freezing conditions
can occur.
Typicalconfigurations ofsolar w ater-
heating system s:
(a) open-loop system
(b) closed-loop system
(c) closed-loop drainback
system
 During stagnation conditions (in summer), the temperature
in the collector can become very high, causing the pressure
in the loop to increase. This can cause leaks in the loop
unless some fluid is allowed to escape through a pressure-
release valve. Whether as a result of leaks or of draining, air
enters the loop, causing the pumps to run dry. This
disadvantage can be overcome in a closed-loop drainback
system that is not pressurized (Figure 7.25c). In this system,
when the pump shuts off, the water in the collectors drains
back into a small holding tank while the air in the holding
tank goes up to fill the collectors. The holding tank can be
located where freezing does not occur, but still at a high
level to reduce pumping power. In all three configurations, a
differential controller measures the temperature differential
between the solar collector and the storage, and turns the
circulation pump on when the differential is more than a set
limit (usually 5C) and turns it off when the differential goes
below a set limit (usually 2C).
 Alternatively, a photovoltaic (PV) panel and a DC pump
may be used. The PV panel will turn on the pump only
when solar radiation is above a minimum level.
Therefore, the differential controller and the temperature
sensors may be eliminated. For temperatures of up to
about 100C, required for many industrial process heat
applications, forced-circulation flat-plate collector water-
heating systems described earlier can be used. A
schematic diagram for a complete liquid-based flat-plate
solar heating system with antifreeze protection is shown
in Figure 7.1. For higher temperatures, evacuated tube
collectors or concentrating collectors must be used.
Industrial process heat systems are described in more
detail in Chapter 8
Liquid-B ased Solar H eating
System s for B uildings
Solar space-heating systems can be classified as active
or passive depending on the method utilized for heat
transfer.
A system that uses pumps and/or blowers for fluid flow
in order to transfer heat is called an active system.
On the other hand, a system that utilizes natural
phenomena for heat transfer is called a passive
system.
Examples of passive solar space-heating systems
include direct gain, attached greenhouse, and storage
wall (also called Trombe wall). Passive solar heating
systems are described in Chapter 9. In this section,
configurations, design methods, and control strategies
for active solar heating systems are described
P hysical C onf g i urations of
A ctive Solar H eating
System s
Figure 7.26 is a schematic diagram of a typical space-
heating system.
The system consists of three fluid loopscollector,
storage, and load.
In addition, most space-heating systems are
integrated with a domestic water-heating system to
improve the year-long solar load factor.
Since space heating is a relatively low-temperature
use of solar energy, a thermodynamic match of
collector to task indicates that an efficient flat-plate
collector or low-concentration solar collector is the
thermal device of choice.
The collector fluid loop contains fluid manifolds, the
collectors, the collector pump, and heat exchanger,
an expansion tank, and other subsidiary components.
 A collector heat exchanger and antifreeze
in the collector loop are normally used in
all solar space-heating systems, since the
existence of a significant heating demand
implies the existence of some subfreezing
weather.
The storage loop contains the storage tank
and pump as well as the tube side of the
collector heat exchanger. To capitalize on
whatever stratification may exist in the
storage tank,
 Typicalsolar therm alsystem for space heating and hot
w ater heating show ing fl
u id transport loops and pum ps.
 fluid entering the collector heat exchanger
is generally removed from the bottom of
storage.
This strategy ensures that the lowest
temperature fluid available in the collector
loop is introduced at the collector inlet for
high efficiency. The energy delivery-to-load
loop contains the load device, baseboard
heaters or fin-and-tube coils, and the
backup system with a flow control (mode
selector) valve.
Solar C ollector O rientation
The best solar collector orientation is such that the
average solar incidence angle is smallest during the
heating season. For tracking collectors, this objective
is automatically realized.
For fixed collectors in the northern hemisphere, the
best orientation is due south (due north in the
southern hemisphere), tilted up from the horizon at
an angle of about 15 greater than the local latitude.
Although due south is the optimum azimuthal
orientation for collectors in the northern hemisphere,
variations of 20 east or west have little effect on
annual energy delivery [22].
Off-south orientations greater than 20 may be
required in some cases because of obstacles in the
path of the sun. These effects may be analyzed using
sun-path diagrams and shadow-angle protractors as
described in Chapter 5.
Fluid Flow R ates
For the maximum energy collection in a
solar collector, it is necessary that it
operates as closely as possible to the
lowest available temperature, which is the
collector inlet temperature. Very high fluid
flow rates are needed to maintain a
collectorabsorber surface nearly
isothermal at the inlet temperature.
Although high flows maximize energy
collection, practical and economic
constraints put an upper limit on useful
flow rates. Very high flows require large
pumps and excessive power consumption
and lead to fluid conduit erosion.
 Figure 7.27 shows the effect of mass flow rate on annual
energy delivery from a solar system. It is seen that the
law of diminishing returns applies and that flows beyond
about 50 kg/hm2 10 lb/hft2 c ( c ) have little marginal
benefit for collectors with loss coefficients on the order
of 6 W/m2 C B 1 tu/hft2 F c ( c ). In practice, liquid
flows in the range of 50 75 kg/hm2 10 15lb/hft2 c
( c ) of water equivalent are the best compromise
among collector heat-loss coefficient, fluid pressure
drop, and energy delivery. However, an infinitely large
flow rate will deliver the most energy if pumping power
is ignored for a nonstratified storage. If storage
stratification is desired, lower flow rates must be used,
since high flow destroys stratification. In freezing
climates, an antifreeze working fluid is necessary for
collectors. Attempts to drain collectors fully for freeze
protection have not been successful.
 Ef e
fct of f u
l id f o
lw rate on collector
perform ance as m easured by the heat-
rem ovalfactor FR ; Fis the plate ef c i
fiency
factor
U nglazed Transpired W all
System for A ir P reheating
Ventilation air preheating systems using wall-
mounted unglazed transpired solar air collectors are
the only active solar air-heating systems that have
found market acceptance in commercial and
industrial buildings [2].
Such systems preheat the ventilation air in a once-
through mode without any storage. Figure 7.28
shows a transpired wall system in which the air is
drawn through a perforated absorber plate by the
building ventilation fan.
Kutcher and Christensen [3] presented a thermal
analysis of this system. From a heat balance on the
transpired unglazed collector, the useful heat
collected is
qu = IcAcas UcAc(Tout Ta )
U nglazed transpired solar collector
 The overall heat loss coefficient Uc, which is
due to radiative and convective losses, is
given as

where
hx is absorber heat-exchanger
effectiveness
hr is a linearized radiative heat-transfer
coefficient
hc is the convective heat loss coefficient
The heat-exchanger effectiveness for air
flowing through the absorber plate is defined
as
 The forced convective heat loss
coefficient due to a wind velocity of
U is given as

where
is the kinematic viscosity of air in
m2/s
cp the specific heat in J/Kg K
V0 the suction velocity in m/s
L is the height of the collector in m
Predicted perform ance ofunglazed
transpired collector.
(a) Ef c
i
fiency vs.suction velocity
(b) Tem perature dif e
frence vs.
suction velocity
 Radiation heat loss occurs both to the sky and to
the ground. Assuming the absorber is gray and
diffuse with an emissivity c, the radiative loss
coefficient hr is

where Fcs and Fcg are the view factors between

the collector and the sky, and collector and the
ground, respectively. For a vertical wall with
infinite ground in front of it, both Fcs and Fcg will
be 0.5 each. Using the earlier equations, Kutcher
and Christensen [3] showed that the predicted
performance matches the measured
performances well. Figure 7.29 shows their
predicted thermal performances.
 M ethods of M odeling and
D esigning Solar H eating
Several methods System
of modelingsand design of
solar space and water heating have been
developed including f-chart, SLR, Utilizability,
and TRNSYS. Klein and his coworkers [19,23
26] developed a method of simplified prediction
of the performance of a solar heating system
based on a large number of detailed
simulations for various system configurations in
various locations in the United States. The
results from these simulations were then
correlated with dimensionless parameters on
charts that are general in form and usable
anywhere.
 The charts are called f-charts, denoting a
parameter fs, the fraction of monthly load
supplied by solar energy. The dimensionless
groups used in the f-charts are derived from
a nondimensionalization of the equations of
governing energy flows. The f-chart method
has been developed for standard solar
heating and hot water system configurations.
TRNSYS is a protected program from the
University of Wisconsin and can be
purchased from distributors.
 The utilizability method is used to predict the
long-term performance of a solar thermal system
used for space heating, hot water, industrial
process heat, or thermal power systems.
It is based on finding the long-term utilizability,
, of a thermal collector. is defined as the
fraction of solar flux absorbed by a collector and
delivered to the working fluid. The
utilizability method is described in detail in
Chapter 8 with applications in solar industrial
process heat and solar power systems.
Solar C ooling
The seasonal variation of solar energy is well
suited to the space-cooling requirements of
buildings, but this application of solar energy has
so far not found much commercial success. Since
the warmest seasons of the year correspond to
periods of high insolation, solar energy is most
available when comfort cooling is most needed.
Moreover, the efficiency of solar collectors
increases with increasing insolation and
increasing environmental temperature.
Consequently, in the summer, the amount of
energy delivered per unit surface area of
collector can be larger than that in winter. There
are several approaches that can be taken to solar
space cooling and refrigeration.
 Because of the limited operating experience with
solar-cooling systems, their design must be based
on basic principles and experience with
conventional cooling systems. The material
presented in this chapter will therefore stress the
fundamental principles of operation of
refrigeration cycles and combine them with
special features of the components in a solar
system. This chapter presents the cooling
requirements of buildings and the basics of active
solar cooling techniques based on vapor-
compression and vapor-absorption refrigeration
cycles and desiccant humidification.
C ooling R equirem ents for
B uildings
The cooling load of a building is the rate at which
heat must be removed to maintain the air in a
building at a given temperature and humidity.
It is usually calculated on the basis of the peak load
expected during the cooling season. For a given
building, the cooling load depends primarily on
1. Inside and outside dry-bulb temperatures and
relative humidities
2. Solar radiation heat load and wind speed
3. Infiltration and ventilation
4. Internal heat sources
 A m ethod ofcalculating the cooling load
is presented in detailin [18].
The steps in calculating the cooling load of a building are
as follows:
1. Specify the building characteristics: wall area, type of
construction, and surface characteristics; roof area, type of
construction, and surface characteristics; window area,
setback, and glass type; and building location and
orientation.
2. Specify the outside and inside wet- and dry-bulb
temperatures.
3. Specify the solar heat load and wind speed.
4. Calculate building cooling load resulting from the
following: heat transfer through windows; heat transfer
through walls; heat transfer through roof; sensible and
latent heat gains resulting from infiltration and ventilation,
sensible and latent heat gains (water vapor) from internal
sources, such as people, lights, cooking, etc.
 Exam ple 7.7
Determine the cooling load for a
building in Phoenix, AZ, with the
specifications tabulated in Table 7.12.
Exam ple 7.7
 Looking at the various heat loads, it is
apparent that the largest heat load comes
from the south-facing walls.
The heat load from these walls is three
times larger than that from the shaded
walls, and it would therefore behoove the
architect or engineer to consider the
options for reducing the heat load through
the southern walls.
Architectural options such as overhangs to
shade these windows could be helpful.
These options are discussed in Chapter 9.
Vapor-C om pression C ycle
The two principal methods of lowering air temperature for
comfort cooling are:
Refrigeration with actual removal of thermal energy
from the air
Evaporation cooling of the air with adiabatic
vaporization of moisture into it .
Refrigeration can be used under any humidity
condition of entering air, whereas evaporative cooling
can be used only when the entering air has a
comparatively low relative humidity.
The most widely used air-conditioning method employs a
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
Another method uses An absorption refrigeration cycle
similar to that of the gas refrigerator.
The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle requires
energy input into the compressor, which may be provided
as electricity from a PV system. Referring to Figure 7.30,
The basic refrigeration vapor-com pression cycle
 the compressor raises the pressure of the refrigerant, which also
increases its temperature. The compressed high-temperature
refrigerant vapor then transfers thermal energy via a heat
exchanger to the ambient environment in the condenser, where
it condenses to a high pressure liquid at a temperature close to,
but above, the environmental temperature.
The liquid refrigerant is then passed through the expansion
valve where its pressure is reduced, resulting in a vaporliquid
mixture at a much lower temperature. The low-temperature
refrigerant is then used to cool air or water in the evaporator
where the liquid refrigerant evaporates by absorbing heat from
the medium being cooled.
The cycle is completed by the vapor returning to the
compressor. If water is cooled by the evaporator, the device is
usually called a chiller. The chilled water is then used to cool the
air in the building.
 The principle of operation of a vapor-compression
refrigeration cycle can be illustrated conveniently with the
aid of a pressureenthalpy diagram, as shown in Figure
7.31. The ordinate is the pressure of the refrigerant in
N/m2 absolute, and the abscissa its enthalpy in kJ/kg. The
Roman numerals in Figure 7.31 correspond to the physical
locations in the schematic diagram of Figure 7.30.
Process I is a throttling process in which hot liquid
refrigerant at the condensing pressure pc passes through
the expansion valve, where its pressure is reduced to the
evaporator pressure pe. This is an isenthalpic (constant
enthalpy) process, in which the temperature of the
refrigerant decreases. In this process, some vapor is
produced, and the state of the mixture of liquid refrigerant
and vapor entering the evaporator is shown by point A.
 Since the expansion process is isenthalpic, the
following relation holds:
hve f + hle(1 f ) = hlc
(7.91)
where
f is the fraction of mass in vapor state
subscripts v and l refer to vapor and liquid states,
respectively
c and e refer to states corresponding to condenser
and evaporator pressures, respectively
Sim ple refrigeration cycle on pressureenthalpy
diagram
 Process III in Figure 7.31 represents the
compression of refrigerant from pressure pe to
pc. The process requires work input from an
external source, which may be obtained from
a solar-driven expander-turbine or a solar
electrical system. In general, if the heated
vapor leaving the compressor is at the
condition represented by point B in Figure
7.31, the work of compression Wc is
Wc = mr ( hvd hve)
(7.96)
In an idealized cycle analysis, the compression
process is usually assumed to be isentropic.
 Process IV represents the condensation of the
refrigerant. Actually, sensible heat is first removed
in the subprocess IVa as the vapor is cooled at a
constant pressure from Td to Tc, and latent heat is
removed at the condensation temperature Tc,
corresponding to the saturation pressure pc in the
condenser. The heat-transfer rate in the condenser
Qc is
Qc =mr ( hvd hlc )
(7.97)
This heat must be rejected into the environment,
either to cooling water or to the atmosphere if no
water is available.
The coef c
i
fient of
perform ance
The overall performance of a
refrigeration machine is usually
expressed as the ratio of
the heat transferred in the
evaporator Qr to the shaft work
supplied to the compressor. This
ratio is called the coefficient of
performance (COP), defined by
 The highest COP for any given evaporator and condenser
temperatures would be obtained if the system were operating on a
reversible Carnot cycle. Under these conditions [18],

(7.99)
The earlier cycle has been idealized. In practice, the liquid
entering the expansion valve is several degrees below the
condensing temperature, while the vapor entering the
compressor is several degrees above the evaporation
temperature.
In addition, pressure drops occur in the suction, discharge, and
liquid pipelines, and the compression is not truly isentropic. Finally,
the work required to drive the compressor is somewhat larger than
Wc provided earlier, because of frictional losses. All of these factors
reduce the COP below the maximum and must be taken into
account in a realistic engineering design.
Exam ple 7.8
Calculate the amount of shaft work to be
supplied to a 1 ton (3.52 kW)
refrigeration plant operation at
evaporator and condenser temperatures
of 273 and 309 K, respectively, using
Refrigerant 134a (R-134a) as the working
fluid. The properties of Refrigerant 134a
are tabulated in Table 7.13.
Also calculate the COP and the mass flow
rate of the refrigerant based on the ideal
cycle described earlier.
 The mass flow rate of refrigerant mr
is obtained from Equation 7.95 and
the enthalpies given earlier, or
A bsorption A ir-
In an absorption system, the refrigerant is
C evaporated
onditioni ng
or distilled from a less volatile
I liquid absorbent, the vapor is condensed in a
water- or air-cooled condenser, and the
resulting liquid is passed through a pressure-
reducing valve to the cooling section of the
unit. There it cools the water as it evaporates,
and the resulting vapor flows into a vessel,
where it is reabsorbed in the stripped
absorbing liquid and pumped back to the
heated generator. The heat required to
evaporate the refrigerant in the generator can
be supplied directly from solar energy, as
shown in Figure 7.32.
 A solar-pow ered
absorption refrigeration
system .
 Absorption air-conditioning is compatible with solar energy
since a large fraction of the energy required is thermal energy
at temperatures that flat-plate solar collectors such as
previously described can provide. Figure 7.32 is a schematic of
an absorption refrigeration system. Absorption refrigeration
differs from vapor-compression air-conditioning only In the
method of compressing the refrigerant. The compression
process is shown to the left of the dashed line in Figure 7.33.
The pressurization is accomplished by first dissolving the
refrigerant in a liquid, called the absorbent, in the absorber
section. This liquid or strong solution is then pumped to a high
pressure with an ordinary liquid pump. The low boilingpoint
refrigerant is then driven from solution by the addition of heat
in the generator. By this means, the refrigerant vapor entering
the condenser is compressed without the large input of high-
grade shaft work that the vapor-compression air-conditioning
demands.
H eat and fl
uid fl
ow ofabsorption air
conditioner,w ith econom izer.
 D esirable characteristics for
The refrigerantabsorbent pair
The effective performance of an absorption cycle depends on the
two materials that comprise the refrigerantabsorbent pair.
Desirable characteristics for the refrigerantabsorbent pair
follow:
1. The absence of a solid-phase absorbent.
2. A refrigerant more volatile than the absorbent so that
separation from the absorbent occurs easily in the generator.
3. An absorbent that has a strong affinity for the refrigerant
under conditions in which absorption takes place.
4. A high degree of stability for long-term operations.
5. Nontoxic and nonflammable fluids for residential applications.
This requirement is less critical in industrial refrigeration.
6. A refrigerant that has a large latent heat so that the
circulation rate can be kept low.
7. A low fluid viscosity that improves heat and mass transfer and
reduces pumping power.
8. Fluids that must not cause long-term environmental effects.
 The refrigerantabsorbent pair
exhibiting desirable characteristics
Lithium bromidewater (LiBrH2O) and ammonia
water (NH3H2O) are the two pairs that meet most
of the requirements. In the LiBrH2O system, water
is the refrigerant and LiBr is the absorber, while in
the NH3H2O system, ammonia is the refrigerant
and water is the absorber. Because the LiBrH2O
system has high volatility ratio, it can operate at
lower pressures and, therefore, at the lower
generator temperatures achievable by flat-plate
collectors.
A disadvantage of this system is that the pair tends
to form solids. LiBr has a tendency to crystallize
when air is cooled, and the system cannot be
operated at or below the freezing point of water.
Therefore, the LiBrH2O system is operated at
evaporator temperatures of 5C or higher
 Using a mixture of LiBr with some other salt
as the absorbent can overcome the
crystallization problem. The NH3H2O
system has the advantage that it can be
operated down to very low temperatures.
However, for temperatures much below 0C,
water vapor must be removed from
ammonia as much as possible to prevent ice
crystals from forming. This requires a
rectifying column after the boiler. Also
ammonia is a safety Code Group B2 fluid
(ASHRAE Standard 34-1992), which restricts
its use indoors [18].
If the pump work is neglected, the COP of an
absorption air conditioner can be calculated
 The COP values for absorption air-conditioning
range from 0.5 for a small single-stage unit to 0.85
for a double-stage steam-fired unit. These values
are about 15% of the COP values that can be
achieved by a vapor-compression air conditioner. It
is difficult to compare the COP of an absorption air
conditioner with that of a vapor-compression air
conditioner directly because the efficiency of
electric power generation or transmission is not
included in the COP of the vapor-compression air-
conditioning. The following example illustrates the
thermodynamics of a LiBrH2O absorption
refrigeration system.
Exam ple 7.9
A LiBrH2O absorption refrigeration system
such as that shown in Figure 7.34 is to be
analyzed for the following requirements:
1. The machine is to provide 352 kW of
refrigeration with an evaporator temperature
of 5C, an absorber outlet temperature of
32C, and a condenser temperature of 43C.
2. The approach at the low-temperature end
of the liquid heat exchanger is to be 6C.
3. The generator is heated by a flat-plate
solar collector capable of providing a
temperature level of 90C.
Determine the COP, absorbent and
refrigerant flow rates, and heat input.
FIG U R E 7.34: LiBrH 2O absorption refrigeration cycle
 Solution
For the analytical evaluation of the LiBrH2O cycle, the
following simplifying assumptions are made:
1. At those points in the cycle for which temperatures are
specified, the refrigerant and absorbent phases are in
equilibrium.
2. With the exception of pressure reductions across the
expansion device between points 2 and 3, and 8 and 9 in
Figure 7.34, pressure reductions in the lines and heat
exchangers are neglected.
3. Pressures at the evaporator and condenser are equal
to the vapor pressure of the refrigerant, that is, water, as
found in steam tables at http://www.ohio.
edu/mechanical/thermo/property_tables/H2O/index.html.
4. Enthalpies for LiBrH2O mixtures are given in Figure
7.35.
Enthalpyconcentration diagram for LiBr
H2O solutions
Enthalpyconcentration
diagram for LiB rH 2O
solutions
 As a first step in solving the problem, set up a
table (Table 7.14) of properties, for example,
given
Generator temperature = 90C = T1 = T7
Evaporator temperature = 5C = T9 = T10
Condenser temperature = 43C = T8
Absorber temperature = 32C = T4
Neglecting the pump work T5 T4 = 32C
Since the approach at the low-temperature end
of the heat exchanger is 6C,
T2 = T5 + 6C = 38C
and
T3 = T2 = 38C
TA B LE 7.14:Therm odynam ic Properties of
Refrigerant and Absorbent for Figure 7.35
Since the fluid at conditions 7, 8, 9, and 10 is
pure water, the properties can be found from
the steam tables. Therefore,
P7 = P8 = SaturationpressureofH2Oat 43C =
8.65kPa
and
P9 = P10 = SaturationpressureofH2Oat 5C =
0.872kPa
Therefore,
P1 = P2 = P5 = P6 = P7 = 8.66kPa
and
P3 = P4 = P10 = 0.872kPa
 Enthalpy
h9 = hg = 180kJ/kg(saturated liquidat 43 C)
H10 = 2510kJ/kg(saturatedvaporenthalpyat6C)
and
h7 = 2760kJ/kg(superheatedvaporat8.65kPa,90C)
For the LiBrH2O mixture, conditions 1 and 4 may be
considered equilibrium saturation conditions, which
may be found from Figures 7.35 and 7.36 as follows:
For
T4 = 32C and P4 = 0.872kPa, Xr = 0.53, h4 =
70kJ/kg-sol.