An Economic Analysis of Ice Thermal Storage and Absorption Chiller-Heater Systems

빙축열 시스템과 흡수식 냉온수기 공조 방식의 경제성 분석

Cost related to building equipment accounts for about 85% of the life cycle cost of buildings. Therefore proper selection of air-conditioning system is important for reducing the overall cost of buildings. In this study, large capacity ice thermal storage and absorption chiller-heater for air-conditioning a building with a floor area of $9,900\;m^2$ are compared economically. For easy input and analysis, an Ms Excel VBA program has been developed. To consider all the factors of initial and operation costs effectively, an annual equal payment method is proposed. Under the assumptions made in this study, overall cost of an absorption chiller-heater is less than that of an ice thermal storage, but this is not absolute and different outcome may result if different assumptions are made. This study is useful for those who are interested in choosing an economical air-conditioning system for large-size buildings with simple calculations.