THEORETICAL STUDY OF A CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM ATTACHED TO THE SOLAR PLANT OF PARABOLIC COLLECTORS OF CEFET-MG
Energy efficiency. Air conditioning. Solar energy. Renewable energy
In face of a growing world energy demand, the search for a replacement of non-renewable energy sources with renewable ones becomes increasingly relevant. Among the consuming sectors of an economy, the buildings sector represents significant consumption. Although the number of buildings that have solar energy systems is increasing, there are still few direct applications to power air conditioning systems using solar energy. In addition, there is the fact that air conditioning systems represent the largest share of consumption in buildings in general. Thus, the development of research related to the use of renewable energies in air conditioning systems becomes relevant. This work aims to carry out a theoretical study of the CEFET-MG solar plant, for total or partial supply of thermal energy to the air conditioning system with an absorption chiller direct-fired type for building 20, in order to reduce operating costs with electrical energy and to operate the system more sustainably. The air conditioning system studied is a central air conditioning system and it will be used for thermal comfort in the classrooms of the institutional building, which has a significant usage profile in terms of energy consumption. We intend to verify the feasibility of replacing or reducing the concessionaire's electricity with the energy supplied by the solar plant installed on the Nova Gameleira campus. The software TRNSYS 16 will be used for modeling collectors, simulating the solar plant, developed in partnership with Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais – CEMIG, through a research and development project. In addition to the simulation of the solar plant feeding the air conditioning system of the institutional building, more comprehensive economic feasibility analyses will be carried out, taking into account costs, such as installation, which will help to conclude on the advantage of using the proposed system.