A high performance solar-assisted ejector expansion refrigeration cycle for residential air conditioning

Introducing a solar collector between the compressor and condenser of an ejector expansion refrigeration cycle (EErc) can improve the performance of the system by further superheating the refrigerant. Hence, this paper proposes a new configuration of a vapor compression refrigeration system, solar compression-ejector expansion refrigeration cycle (SCEErc) with energy saving in the compressor via an ejector and an evacuated tube solar collector. The performance improvement of the proposed system under a wide range of operating conditions such as condenser and evaporator temperatures, superheating and subcooling degrees, nozzle and diffuser efficiencies, and solar radiation intensities has been evaluated and compared with EErc under the same operational conditions and for four different refrigerants. The results indicate that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the SCEErc increased by 26.53 % compared to the EErc for the solar radiation energy of 0.2 kW. Moreover, exergy analysis results indicate a 59 % increase in the exergy destruction of the condenser in the SCEErc compared to the EErc. This is due to the increase in heat rejected from the condenser to the environment, which can be beneficial if the condenser cooling air outlet is utilized for applications like heat recovery technologies. The R152a, boasting a COP of 3.963, presents itself as a more favorable alternative to R134a.