Can an absorbtion refrigeration system reclaim condenser heat?

[Zpoint]

How much cooling could an absorbtion refrigeration system provide if it was using the hot gas
of a standard 5 ton split system air conditioner as its heat source. That would be approximately
75,000 btuh.
Im just trying to see if I could incrfease the efficiency of my ac system using absorbtion refrigeration.

Thank you for your time.

[Josip]

Hi, Zpoint :)


How much cooling could an absorption refrigeration system provide if it was using the hot gas
of a standard 5 ton split system air conditioner as its heat source. That would be approximately
75,000 btuh.
Im just trying to see if I could incrfease the efficiency of my ac system using absorption refrigeration.

Thank you for your time.

whenever we have a waste energy it is possible to transform it to useful energy .... what I know, waste energy should be constantly available in some minimal amount and quality i.e. high temperature, otherwise it is too expensive to install absorption refrigeration system ....

maybe you can use that heat as a energy source for compression system heat pump ... i.e. COP of absorption refrigeration system is about 1/5 comparing with compression refrigeration system ....

maybe you'll get some better answer from other RE forums members, meanwhile I think the best is to read something about ...

http://www.hft-stuttgart.de/Forschung/Kompetenzen/zafh/Publikationen/publikationen_download/2007/Jakob_Eicker_Schneider_Teusser_Heat_SET_2007.pdf

http://users.ntua.gr/rogdemma/A%20Review%20for%20Absorption%20Refrigeration%20Technologies.pdf

http://www.voltastechnologies.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=74

http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/ancillary_loads/pdfs/heat_cooling.pdf


of course there is much more documents with similar examples and discussion available on the internet ...

Hope this is of some help to you ...

Best regards, Josip :)

[sterl]

The hybrid compression systems are out there; they use some pretty exotic liquids to absorb flourocarbons and then the heat of compression to desorb them. In general the compact forms involve 2-refrigerants going around the complete compression circuit and one, cracked off the mix, going around the absorptive circuit. The condenser needs at least (2) sections. The liquid is an ionic hydrocarbon normally. The refrigerant flows come pretty close to those of an autocascade cycle. The whole thing needs some running time to reach steady state and that needs to be figured in the economic model because during the run-up the compression circuit's overall efficiency may be dreadful. They can operate pretty functionally as a 2-temperature, single circuit arrangement kind of like a refrigerant pair for domestic refrigerator. Published material on fairly ordinary temperature equipment indicate a 11 to 14% gain in cooling capacity based on heat of compression alone....

Retro a home air conditioner? Unless there is something else to rationalize it, I would think it would never be economically feasible. There are Heat/Cool absorption systems available out there, essentially they are on NG instead of electricity: and if you are in climates where your heating load and duration, as product, tends to be 5 or 6 times your cooling load, and the cost of electricity 6 to 8 times that (per therm) of Natural Gas, the economics tends to work out but the initial is about 4-times that of an AC unit of comparable cooling capacity.