Solar air conditioning system using desiccant wheel technology as a solution for Iraq

The electrical energy consumption in Iraq has increased sharply in the past few years. Modern energy efficient technologies are desperately needed for the national energy policy. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the various cooling systems, using the readily available solar energy to cool down the buildings in Iraq during hot weather days. This paper presents the best solar cooling system which can be installed in Iraq for solar cooling. It also focuses on the type of thermally driven system which can be used for solar cooling. It is fact that many buildings in Iraq are designed far away from being energy efficient, hence this paper focuses on the standards which can be developed and can be used in the future on residential buildings from the energy point of view, with a suggestion to establish such solar cooling projects in Iraq. Systems have been used successfully in northern Europe and a number of studies have demonstrated that solar energy can be used to drive the system in this region. However, to date, desiccant cooling has not been used in Iraq. This paper presents the results of a study, in which a solar desiccant cooling model will use to evaluate the potential for using solar power to drive a desiccant cooling system in Iraq. The study demonstrates that solar desiccant cooling is feasible in Iraq, provided that the latent heat gains experienced are not excessive. However, if the relative humidity experienced are too high then desiccant cooling becomes impracticable simply because the regeneration temperatures required are excessive.