文章基本信息

标题：Comparison between Variable and Constant Refrigerant Flow Air Conditioning Systems in Arid Climate: Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Energy Savings
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作者：Georges Atallah ; Faris Tarlochan
期刊名称：Sustainability
印刷版ISSN：2071-1050
出版年度：2021
卷号：13
期号：18
页码：10374
DOI：10.3390/su131810374
语种：English
出版社：MDPI, Open Access Journal
摘要：All over the world, there is a call to encourage sustainable energy thinking and implementation. There is an urgent need to consider sustainable solutions in any design projects that are able to reduce energy consumption. In the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning field, the rise of the variable refrigerant flow systems has made big progress. This study presents a life cycle cost analysis to evaluate the economic feasibility of constant refrigerant flow (CRF), and in particular, the conventional ducted unit air conditioning system and the variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system by using detailed cooling load profiles, as well as initial, operating, and maintenance costs. Two operating hours scenarios are utilized and the present worth value technique for life cycle cost analysis is applied to an existing office building located in Qatar, which can be conditioned by CRF and VRF systems. The results indicate that, although the initial cost of the VRF system is higher than that of the CRF system by 23%, the present worth cost of the VRF system is much lower than that of the CRF system at the end of the lifetime due to lower operating costs. There is also a significant energy saving of 27% by using VRF compared to the CRF. The implementation of these results on a national scale will promote the use of sustainable energy technologies such as the VRF system.