Thermo-Economic Analysis for Cooling Cycles

The levelized cost of cooling accounts for the costs of cooling systems throughout their life cycle and is an effective measurement of the economic viability of cooling cycles. This chapter presents a life-cycle economic analysis of different cooling cycles. Economic and thermodynamic performance data are firstly collected from open literature. The cost of cooling over the plant lifetime is then calculated considering different energy sources. Results revealed that the mechanical chiller and the indirect evaporative cooler are the most cost-effective under the regular scenario, while heat-driven processes like absorption and adsorption cooling cycles are expensive due to high thermal energy costs. Costs of thermally driven cycles can be reduced if low-cost thermal energy sources are available, and under such situations, the absorption chiller can become a viable option. The cooling costs are also strongly impacted by interest rate, annual operation hour, and energy efficiency. Therefore, optimal design, selection, and energy efficiency are key to sustaining low capital and operating costs. The derived results offer a robust and convenient basis for selecting cooling systems in real applications.