Review of solar cooling methods and thermal storage options

• Published in: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews 2011-08, Vol.15 (6), p.3220-3228
• Main Authors: Chidambaram, L.A., Ramana, A.S., Kamaraj, G., Velraj, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorption cooling; Applied sciences; Cooling; Cooling loads; Demand; Energy; environmental impact; Exact sciences and technology; Latent heat thermal storage; Phase change material; Refrigerants; researchers; Shortages; Solar collectors; Solar cooling; Solar cooling Absorption cooling Solar collectors Thermal energy storage Phase change material Latent heat thermal storage; Solar energy; storage; temperature profiles; Thermal energy storage; Thermal storage
• ISSN: 1364-0321; 1879-0690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2011.04.018

Power shortage and unstable power supply remain serious problems. Conventional cooling technologies that utilize harmful refrigerants consume more energy and cause peak loads leading to negative environmental impacts. As the world grapples with the energy and environmental crisis, there is an urgent need to develop and promote environmentally benign sustainable cooling technologies. Solar cooling is one such promising technology, given the fact that solar energy is the cheapest and widely available renewable energy that matches the cooling load requirements. Thermal storage systems are essential to overcome the disadvantage of the intermittent nature of solar energy and variation in cooling demand. The enhanced utilization of solar energy and other consequences of thermal storage integrated systems have gained the attention of researchers in the recent years. This paper reviews research articles in the field of solar cooling techniques, solar collectors, storage methods and their integration, along with performance improvement studies reported using thermal stratification and cascaded thermal storage systems.