Energy and CO2 emission assessment of cooling generation alternatives: A comprehensive approach based on black-box models

Nowadays, cooling production is increasingly required to satisfy more and more demanding life standards, in particular for air conditioning applications in urban areas. Energy efficiency improvement and greenhouse gas emission reduction are primary tasks at the present stage of evolution of the energy generation systems. In this respect, different alternatives available for cooling generation, fed either electrically or by gas (absorption or engine-driven chillers), can bring about different environmental impacts in dependence on the specific generation framework. This paper presents a comprehensive unified energy and environmental model for cooling generation assessment. The approach proposed is based upon formulation of synthetic black-box models that characterize the relevant energy system components. Specific indicators are defined to represent the cooling energy saving and CO2 emission reduction obtainable from natural gas direct-fired chillers with respect to traditional compression electric chillers. By using these novel indicators, break-even conditions are worked out to identify the limits of convenience of different cooling generation technologies. Numerical examples are provided to assess the potential benefits of the various solutions in different countries. Specific discussions refer to considering power system average or marginal operational characteristics.

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