Feasibility study on the solar absorption cooling system for a residential complex in the Australian subtropical region

The negative impacts of the increasing number of air conditioning systems in Australia include excessive strain on grids and associated blackouts, higher electricity costs and associated carbon emission issues. The installation of sustainable cooling technologies such as solar absorption cooling systems provides a promising alternative. However, the feasibility of the system for the Australian subtropical climate has not systematically studied. The paper aims to investigate the feasibility of implementing solar absorption cooling technology in student residential building in Australia's subtropical climate region. The feasibility study allows the user to determine if the solar cooling system is technically, economically and environmentally sustainable in the long term. Through the simulation, the key performance parameters such as power consumption data and component performance details were determined. The simulation results showed that the solar absorption chiller can provide comfort in the building by maintaining room temperature within 20–24 °C. The system's performance optimisation studies were conducted, and it was found that the collector area 20 m2 paired with a storage ratio of 0.02 m3/m2 had provided a high solar fraction (SF) of 0.91. The economic analysis is also carried out to determine the annual savings in energy cost, carbon emission reduction, and the payback period.