Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:1707-1714.

Abstract

Tropical or subtropical countries are very suitable for the development of solar and heat pump technology. This paper
proposed the integration of air conditioners that exhaust heat with solar energy to enhance the overall efficiency of thermal
energy conversion. The analysis of thermal storage tanks of different volumes showed that a two-ton air conditioner
operating for an hour produced double energy than normal sunshine for a day. With thermal storage tanks of fixed
volume, the integration of air conditioners of different tons with solar energy indicated that air conditioners of less tons
produced faster and more efficient energy conversion. Therefore, this paper proposed that the modification of condenser
in domestic air conditioner into water-cooled condenser not only enhance the energy efficiency of air conditioners but
also increased hot water supplies since hot water from air conditioners could be integrated into solar water heaters. By
doing so, energy conservation and carbon reduction could be achieved.