Life cycle assessment of a solar absorption air-conditioning system

abstract

© 2019 Elsevier LtdEnvironmental impacts of an experimental Solar Absorption Air-Conditioning System based on a Life-Cycle Assessment were evaluated for the first time in Mexico. For comparison, a Commercial Air Conditioning System that uses electricity from fossil fuels was also evaluated. In both cooling systems, the construction, operation and end-of-life stages were analysed. Environmental impacts were evaluated using the SimaPro® software and TRACI 2.1 method. Ten impact categories were analysed, among which the ecotoxicity, fossil fuel depletion, and global warming potentials represented the most important issues. A considerable reduction of environmental impacts was achieved by using the solar cooling system in comparison with those large impacts produced by the commercial cooling system. This reduction was due to the use of solar energy in contrast with the conventional cooling system which uses electricity sourced from fossil fuels. The main contribution of environmental impacts in the solar cooling system was the consumption of energy and raw materials for the construction, whereas for the commercial cooling system, the electricity consumption, and the use of refrigerant were the major impacts of the operation stage. An overall emission saving of ~80% of the global warming potential as carbon footprint was obtained from the solar cooling system, whereas, for the fossil fuel depletion and ecotoxicity impact categories, a decrease of 85% and 20% was achieved, respectively. Further details of this environmental sustainability study are outlined in the present work.