Clean Energy, 2022, Vol. 7, No. 2, 242–252 https://doi.org/10.1093/ce/zkac051 Advance access publication 23 March 2023 Research Article Thermo-economic analysis of the performance of the combined system with evacuated tube collectors Ghassan Fadhil Smaisim 1,2, , Salema K. Hadrawi 3,4 , Azher M. Abed 5 , Hasan Sh. Majdi 6 and Ali Shamel 7, * , 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa, 54001, Iraq 2 Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Research Unit (NAMRU), Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa, 54001, Iraq 3 Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Technical Engineering Department, College of Technical Engineering, The Islamic University, Najaf, 54001, Iraq 4 Computer Engineering Department, Imam Reza University, Mashhad, Iran 5 Department of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon, 51001, Iraq 6 Department of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Industries, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon, 51001, Iraq 7 Department of Chemistry, Ardebil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardebil, Iran * Corresponding author. E-mail: ali.shamel8020@yahoo.com Abstract Using combined cooling, heat and power systems can be an appropriate substitute for preventing emissions of pollutants and exces- sive consumption of fossil fuels. Utilizing renewable energy in these systems as a source of power generation can be an appropriate substitute for fossil-fuel-based systems. Therefore, in this paper, cogeneration cooling, heat and power systems based on gas-fred internal combustion engines with a solar-thermal system with evacuated tube collectors have been modelled and thermo-economic analysis has been done to compare fossil-fuel-based systems. The required rate of heat to supply the hot water is 50 kW. In the studied system, the internal combustion engine produces electrical energy. Then, the solar-thermal system with evacuated tube collectors and the gas-burning generator provide the thermal energy required by the studied building and the primary stimulus of the absorption chiller for cooling. In this study, two different scenarios are conducted in states considering simultaneous production systems and regardless of this environmental and thermo-economic analysis system. The results showed that the effciency of the studied system was 60% in summer and 56% in winter. Graphical Abstract Natural gas Heat and electrical power Heat power Natural gas Keywords: combined cooling, heat and power; thermo-economic analysis; evacuated tube collectors; environmental analysis; solar-thermal energy Received: 17 June 2022. Accepted: 19 August 2022 © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/7/2/242/7084761 by guest on 05 May 2023