Thermodynamic analysis of a bifacial PV/T‐driven ejector cooling and electrodialysis system for off‐grid sustainable climate refuge in hot‐arid climates

Abstract

AbstractIn hot‐arid climatic regions like Qatar, it is important to facilitate pedestrians' journeys. One way to do so is by providing them with shelters, that is, from a station to their destination building. It is necessary for such shelters to provide on‐site space cooling and freshwater in an off‐grid condition. In this respect, the proposed off‐grid system in this study includes bifacial photovoltaic (BPV) and a solar thermal collector for energy generation with battery and thermal storage units. BPV with an efficiency of 16% can produce power up to about 6.1 kW on the rooftop, which also reduces the cooling load via effective shading. The ejector‐based cooling system is deployed for efficient space cooling in high ambient temperatures (more than 28°C), while for less than 28°C, both fan and water misting systems are operated for the comfort of pedestrians. Finally, an electrodialysis system is integrated to generate freshwater from seawater to be used for drinking and water misting purposes in the off‐grid sustainable shelter. The overall energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are calculated to be 13.2% and 5.29%, respectively. The effects of several parameters are also studied to observe the overall system efficiency and the energy generated and consumed by the system.