The potential for solar powered single-stage desiccant cooling in southern Europe

Desiccant cooling is an environmentally friendly technology which can be used to condition the internal environment of buildings. Unlike conventional air conditioning systems, which rely on electrical energy to drive the cooling cycle, desiccant cooling is a heat driven cycle. Desiccant cooling 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 southern European. This paper presents the results of a study, in which a solar desiccant cooling model was used to evaluate the potential for using solar power to drive a single-stage desiccant cooling system in various locations in southern Europe. The study demonstrates that solar desiccant cooling is feasible in parts of southern Europe, provided that the latent heat gains experienced are not excessive. However, if the relative humidities experienced are too high then desiccant cooling becomes impracticable simply because the regeneration temperatures required are excessive.