A novel strategy to optimizing a solar hybrid multi-generation system with desalination

To reduce energy consumption, a model was developed to optimize a multi-generation system. The system integrates multi-effect distillation through thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC), solar flat plate collectors (FPCs), and photovoltaic panels (PVs). The objective function was to minimize the annual cost of the system. To achieve this, an evolutionary algorithm was employed to determine the optimal values of 34 design parameters. The design parameters considered for optimization included the capacity of the gas turbine as the prime mover, electrical chiller capacity, absorption chiller capacity, size of the boiler, partial loads of the gas turbine for each month of the year (12 values in total), number of FPCs and PVs, number of effects in the desalination unit, driving steam pressure, feed water flow rate, driving steam flow rate, and electric cooling ratio. A novel approach was introduced by incorporating a variable electrical cooling ratio, which represents the proportion of electrical and absorption chiller usage, for each month of the year. The optimization aimed to fulfill the heating, cooling, electricity, and freshwater requirements of a residential complex situated in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, Iran. The optimization results were compared with a constant electrical cooling ratio system where the electrical cooling ratio was assumed to be fixed throughout the year. The optimal scenario, considering the variable electrical cooling ratio strategy, yielded an annual cost of $0.9780 × 10⁶ $/year, indicating a significant 10.11% improvement compared to the conventional case ($1.0882 × 10⁶ $/year). These findings underscore the potential advantages of the proposed strategy in terms of cost savings and system performance optimization.