Performance evaluation and comparative study on a novel solar-heat-driven ejection-compression hybrid cooling system with subcooling storage

Refrigeration technology contributes to 10∼15% of global energy consumption, resulting in significant carbon emission. Solar-driven ejection-compression refrigeration system is promising for reducing electricity consumption and carbon emissions. However, existing solar ejection-compression refrigeration systems suffer from drawbacks of low heat utilization efficiency, oversized solar collectors, and thermal leakage due to large temperature differences of storage devices. Addressing these challenges, this study proposes and investigates a new solar-assisted ejector-compressor hybrid refrigeration system with subcooling storage coupled at intermediate temperatures. The system model is established, and the ejector model is experimentally validated. Through system modelling, an energetic and exergetic performance comparative analyses are conducted. The results indicate that the COP of the proposed system is 9.7% higher than that of traditional system combinations, producing the same cooling capacity with the same generating heat. Moreover, considering the stored cooling energy can be fully converted to cooling energy at evaporating temperatures, the COPh of the new system reaches 8.29, 24.5% higher than traditional systems. The cooling storage at 15°C with 0.325 ejector entrainment ratio suggests a reduction of approximately two-thirds in energy storage, lower temperature differences, and reduced thermal leakage, leading to decreased space and economic costs and improved energy performance. Additionally, as the COPh, COPgh, and ηex of MCS mode consistently outperform those of ZCS and HCS modes, the MCS mode is prioritized in system operation. This study underscores that the new system offers superior overall energy efficiency and requires smaller storage devices compared to traditional systems, revealing its promising practical applications.