Energy, Exergy, Economic, and Environmental (4‐E) Analysis of a Desiccant Air‐Conditioning System Based on Evacuated Tube Solar Air Heater

ABSTRACT In the present work, the performance of a solar‐driven desiccant air‐conditioning system is investigated experimentally. It consists of an evacuated tube solar air heater (SAH), a desiccant wheel (DW) and an indirect evaporative cooler (IEC). The evacuated tube SAH generates hot air to regenerate the DW, and further, the DW is used to generate dry air. An IEC is used to sensibly cool the dry air produced by the DW. The maximum and average heat gains through air are 3.07 and 2.51 kW. The average adsorption and regeneration effectiveness are recorded as 0.5689 and 0.2089, respectively. The average DW and IEC effectiveness are recorded as 0.5143 and 0.639, respectively. The average coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency are recorded as 0.204 and 0.138, respectively. The energy‐economic and exergoeconomic analyses of the experimental setup are 0.48 and 0.42 kWh/$, respectively. The carbon credits earned by the experimental setup, considering the energy and exergy approaches, are 5707.61 and 5065.07 US$, respectively. The total CO 2 mitigation of the experimental setup under the energy and exergy approach is 66.38 and 58.89 tons, while the payback time for energy and exergy is 5.02 and 5.66 years, which is remarkably very low for a 20‐year lifespan.