Past, present, future of solar cooling: Technical and economical considerations

A large fraction of cooling demand depends on solar radiation intensity, therefore a strong attention was directed toward solar cooling immediately after the 1973 energy crisis. Whereas pilot solar cooling plants were built up and experimented, this technology never really took off. A recent survey reported something more than 1000 plants operating, a very modest number with respect the great potential of solar cooling. A review of technologies as they developed in the past, operate in the present with a forecasting for the future is here proposed to follow how the technology evolved during almost half a century regarding the solar section and the relative refrigeration equipment. The analysis allows to take stock of the situation selecting solar sections, cooling machines and their coupling which seem nowadays more suitable for wide application in the near future. A study is proposed at the end to put together some energy evaluations in different climates and much more difficult economical evaluations to investigate whether a possible fossil fuel parity cost can be attained, if not today, in a near future.