Analysis Of The Potential Of Solar Cooling Technologies In The Tropical Climate Of Singapore

Singapore is located in the tropical climate zone, where ambient conditions show high humidity and temperature values throughout the year. The Singapore code of practice for buildings Air Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) systems suggests a maximum indoor air operative temperature of 24-26 °C and a relative humidity of 60 %. This limits the acceptable humidity ratio in the interior spaces to approx. 9 g/kg. The humidity ratio of the ambient air is above 15 g/kg at high temperatures most of the year, which leads to an enormous latent as well as sensible cooling demand. Following that, the decoupling of dehumidification and sensible cooling is the first important step towards an energy efficient building. A comparison of the energy performance of desiccant cooling systems driven by solar heat to high efficiency compression chiller systems is shown within this work.