TECHNO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF A BIOMASS-ASSISTED EVACUATED-TUBE SOLAR-THERMAL ABSORPTION COOLING SYSTEM FOR MEDITERRANEAN STUDENT DORMITORIES

Date

2025-8

Author

Awan, Mohsin A.

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Driven by the need to decarbonize Mediterranean space cooling, this study models a Solar thermal powered absorption-chiller plant for METU NCC’s EBI dormitory. Although solar-assisted absorption cooling has been investigated in existing studies, the literature still lacks dormitory-scale research that simultaneously employs a fully renewable auxiliary heat source and delivers a holistic techno-economic and life-cycle environmental appraisal tailored to Mediterranean setting. Accordingly, the thesis pursues four research objectives: (i) to optimize the sizing of evacuated-tube collectors, stratified storage and pellet boiler to secure a seasonal solar fraction of at least 0.60; (ii) to characterize hourly thermal performance through a calibrated Open Studio-SAM co-simulation framework; (iii) to evaluate the levelized cost of cooling, simple pay-back and net present value under prevailing local tariffs; (iv) to quantify life-cycle greenhouse gas abatement relative to high-efficiency vapor-compression benchmark. A 186 m² evacuated-tube collector field charges a 6 m³ stratified tank that feeds a 70 kW LiBr-H₂O single-effect chiller, supplemented by a 100-kW pellet boiler for low-irradiance periods. Hourly Open Studio- and SAM-based simulations, calibrated to campus utility data, show solar heat meeting 62 % of solar fraction (SF), approaching 100 % in shoulder months and more than 50 % in peak month, deliberate 4–7 % oversizing and thermal buffering eliminate unmet loads. Installed cost is €156,000 versus €42,000 for a 60-kW vapor-compression baseline, yielding a levelized cost of cooling (LCOC) of €0.33 kWh⁻¹ compared with €0.04 kWh⁻¹ grid power. Replacing grid electricity with solar heat plus sustainably sourced pellets lowers annual CO₂ from 38–47 ton to less than 10 ton (roughly 75–80 % reduction). Targeted government incentives—such as investment subsidies, feed-in tariffs for renewable heat, and carbon-tax rebates, combined with year-round utilization of the collectors for space-heating and domestic-hot-water production, could materially reduce the system’s levelized cost of cooling and shorten the payback horizon to commercially attractive levels. The proposed system offers a replicable route to grid-independence with low-carbon comfort in a sun-rich institutional buildings.

Subject Keywords

Absorption Chiller, CO₂ Mitigation, Evacuated-Tube Collectors, Solar-Thermal Cooling, Techno-Economic Analysis

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/116186

Collections

Northern Cyprus Campus, Thesis