COOLSUN · Development of a tri-generation solar heating and COOLing System including the Use of the heat extracted from the adsorptioN chiller re-cooling circuit

About 400 solar cooling pilots have now been installed, tested, living and analyzed throughout Europe. Yet, none of them combines in a single integrated system the solar thermal tri-generation: sanitary water heating, space heating and space cooling. The on-going HighCombi project will result in a first tentative of such a concept. However, the partners of the COOLSUN project have already identified sources of comparative performance improvement, using the EnerSun system basis. To do so, the COOLSUN concept will combine : i)pure glycol stable in liquid phase at ambient pressure up to 170°C as the thermodynamic fluid, ii) a set of heat storage tanks, iii) an adsorption chiller delivering chilled water at 20°C to cool the building floor, which re-cooling extracted heat will be valorized and iv) a single intelligent control system performing solar energy injection on demand. The proposed concept has the potential to enable the full thermal autonomy to any inhabited building under the Mediterranean climate. This is why 5 SMEs from different southern European countries have asked Enersun, Honeywell, SWT, InvenSor and LNEG, acting as RTD Performers, to validate the technical and economical potential of this new solar heating and cooling system. In two years, the project objective is to develop, test and validate a prototype system that will optimize the thermal energy use, reaching a ready-for-industrialization system. The project will conclude on a public demonstration at the test site in the south-West of France. The coordinator, Enersun, is a research SME, whose Manager was already involved in a ""Research for the benefit of SMEs"" European project. Combined with industrial capacities of 2 manufacturing SMEs of the consortium, the COOLSUN system has a high potential to meet the market within short time beyond the project.""