Energetic Performance of a PV-Powered Air Conditioner Under Climatic Operating Conditions in Tunisia

In this work, we study the energy performance of a domestic air conditioner operating by a hybrid PV -Grid source tested in the climatic conditions of Tunis (Tunisia). The air conditioner has a cooling/heating capacity of 18,000 BTU/h. The photovoltaic installation includes 4 PV panels (335 Wc each) and a 1,300 W inverter. The tests were conducted in early summer. The air conditioner consumes a total daily electrical energy which varies between 13 kWh and 14.5 kWh for approximately 9 hours of daily operation while the production of electrical energy by the PV panels varies between 6.5 kWh and 6.9 kWh. The energy solar fraction (ESF) and the power solar fraction (PSF) are the energy performance indicators of the photovoltaic air conditioner (PVAC) installation. The energy solar fraction (ESF) varies between 0.433 and 0.531 while the power solar fraction (PSF) varies between 0.5 and 0.6 during the hours of strong sunshine between 11:00 and 14:00.