Prospects for absorption chillers in Finnish energy systems

Increasing trend in space cooling together with demand of CO2 emission reduction in energy production directs towards environmentally friendlier cooling options. Absorption chillers utilize waste heat in cold production and could, therefore, fit to this need. Finland has a well established district heating system and growing district cooling markets. The trend is towards renewable options in both heat and electricity production. In this study, after introducing basics of absorption chillers, cooling trends in Finland are discussed and prospects of absorption chillers in Finnish district and building energy systems are defined. A number of potential applications are identified and discussed. After an extensive review of literature, the authors conclude that solar driven absorption chiller applications have not been widely examined in Finnish conditions. Particularly absorption systems in trigeneration systems could be feasible also in Finland. Still, further technical and economic analyses for all potential applications are needed.