Solar-powered dual absorption system: selection criteria using fuzzy decision analysis

The absorption system is one of the most suitable types of system for air-conditioning use. In addition, it has the advantage of being able to be powered by solar energy. In hot climates this type of system requires a wet cooling tower which consumes a huge amount of water. In arid zones, where solar energy is available, water is usually rare. In such environments it is highly recommended that the use of wet cooling towers be avoided because of their large water consumption. The dual cycle may be used in arid zones. It has the advantage of avoiding the use of the wet cooling tower. However, its coefficient of performance (COP) is very low. This can create misleading results; therefore, the COP should not be considered as the sole criterion of performance. The main aim of this paper is to introduce a Multi-Attribute Fuzzy Decision Analysis Package to differentiate between the dual and simple cycles in order to establish which is the more suitable for air conditioning. Nine criteria--and more than twenty-seven subcriteria--were considered and the package run result was in favour of the dual cycle.