The simulation model of the installation will be used in future to perform online simulations in order to detect some potential errors/malfunctions of the system and alert the users. This process has to be automated in order to simulate at the end of each day the installation and compare the results with the measurements.

Additionally, the model will be used to study the possibility of varying the cycle of the adsorption chillers when the cooling demand of the building is not so high, in order to increase the COP and reduce the input heat in the chillers. Furthermore, the control strategy of turning on the 3 chillers according to the cooling demand will also be investigated.

3. Conclusions

This paper shows the results of dynamic simulations of a large solar adsorption cooling plant installed in the company FESTO AG nearby Stuttgart in Germany. Even if some works are still required to enhance the quality of the model, the results show an acceptable agreement between simulated values and measured ones. This simulation model will be used in future to perform online simulations for an automated alarm and fault detection system. The adsorption chiller model will be also used to study the effect of the variation of the cycle time of the chiller and to optimize the control strategy of turning on the 3 adsorption chillers (when should they be turned on).

4. Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without the collaboration of the company FESTO AG and the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg who have provided all the measurement data necessary for this study. This work has been supported by the 6th European Union Research Program’s Marie-Curie early stage research training network in “Advanced solar heating and cooling for buildings” — SOLNET. http://cms. uni-kassel. de/index. php? id=2142

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