Comparative investigation on the exergoeconomic analysis of solar-driven ejector refrigeration systems

In this article, the economic performance of the solar-driven steam ejector refrigeration system is addressed due to the rising beneficial adoption of this system with regard to using low-grade heat sources. For this purpose, a detailed exergoeconomic analysis on four proposed configurations of this system integrated with either or both of a precooler and a preheater is performed. At a refrigeration load of 5 kW, the results of this analysis show that it is more advantageous for all configurations to have evaporators work at 278 K with condensers remain at 311 K, whilst the generators are kept working at 362 K. The characteristics of each configuration are comprehensively discussed and compared. Based on the assessment of economic parameters, the fourth configuration provides the highest exergetic efficiency and the lowest total investment cost (0.1891 $/h) compared to the other configurations. The current work furnishes essential information that paves the way for future exergoeconomic studies in this field. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.