Solar Air Conditioning

Passive and active solar air conditioners are briefly described. Evaluation of passive systems in terms of comparative values of the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied is advocated and the method applied to a building with a roof pool. Performance of active systems and the possible avenues for performance improvements are considered. The solar fraction is suggested as the objective function. After making recommendations for system design, the paper continues by analysing cost data for several Australian installations. Finally, system costs are estimated for the end of this decade when these systems could be economic for remote areas.