The Solar Cooling Design Guide: Case Studies of Successful Solar Air Conditioning Design (Solar Heating and Cooling)

Oversized hardcover, xix + 139 pages, NOT ex-library. Minor handling wear, short creases in one of the boards' corner. Book is clean and bright with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Issued without a dust jacket. -- The book stands out as the most comprehensive practical reference to date for engineers, architects, energy planners, and decision-makers seeking to understand, design, and implement solar-assisted air conditioning systems. Developed under the auspices of the International Energy Agency's Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC Task 48), the book reflects cutting-edge international research and distills years of technical experience into a usable guide, both scientifically rigorous and operationally accessible. Solar cooling - using solar thermal energy to drive cooling systems - represents one of the most promising solutions to the rising global demand for air conditioning in both commercial and residential sectors. It can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. However, as the editors emphasize, designing these systems is not straightforward. Performance and reliability depend on a complex interaction of components, control logic, climatic conditions, and system integration decisions - many of which are not intuitive. This book provides a framework to navigate these complexities successfully. The guide is divided into two major sections: general design principles and in-depth case studies, culminating in a dedicated chapter on design best practices for double-effect absorption chillers. The general section (Chapter 2) outlines essential technical foundations including thermodynamic flows, system configurations, performance metrics (e.g., Seasonal Performance Factor), and cost-benefit considerations. It clearly defines the different flowsheets for solar heating and cooling, identifies typical pitfalls, and introduces robust evaluation frameworks for economic and environmental performance. The heart of the book lies in its three extended case studies (Chapters 3 to 5), each of which presents a different solar cooling application with a complete design-to-performance narrative. These include: a small NH3/H2O absorption chiller system, offering insights into compact, low-capacity applications; a system combining absorption cooling with domestic hot water production, showing integrated thermal usage; a double-effect absorption chiller-based system, ideal for high-performance commercial applications. Each case is dissected through detailed equipment specifications, process flows, control philosophies, hazard analysis, TRNSYS-based simulations, and commercial feasibility studies. Readers are shown exactly how configuration choices (collector area, hydraulic setup, thermal storage volume, pump selection and control logic) affect performance and costs. Monthly and daily energy flows, seasonal factors, and real-world installation constraints (architectural, maintenance, commissioning) are all documented. Crucially, each chapter concludes with lessons learned, quality assurance checklists, and reflections on system adaptability and replicability. The editors take care to ground the book not only in technical detail but in practical outcomes. By presenting real-world systems with traceable energy and economic performance, the book goes beyond theory to demonstrate how solar cooling can be commercially viable and scalable. This is especially valuable for those seeking funding or stakeholder approval for new projects. Another distinguishing merit is the book's consistency of structure across case studies, which allows easy comparison and adaptation of techniques. Engineers designing new installations will find the checklists, performance simulations, and control philosophies directly applicable. Policy-makers and sustainability professionals can also benefit from the data-driven validation of solar cooling in various operational contexts.