Simulated Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal Heat Pump System for Single-family Houses
Abstract
This paper presents the design, operation and performance simulation of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) heat pump system targeted for single-family houses. The proposed system consists of PV/T collectors, a water-to-water heat pump, an outdoor swimming pool, pumps and a forced air system for space conditioning. Using water as the heat transfer medium, the PV/T collectors are used to collect solar energy in the heating season and to dissipate energy to the sky via radiative cooling in the cooling season. The heated or cooled water from PV/T collectors can be 1) used as the heat source/sink of the water-to-water heat pump, which then provides hot or cold water to the water coils in the air handler for space conditioning; or 2) used to charge the swimming tool, which acts as the thermal storage and connects to the heat pump as needed on the source side. There are a total of six different operational modes, the operation of which depends on the space air temperature, the PV/T collector temperature, and the swimming pool water temperature. The system performance was simulated with TRNSYS software. Preliminary results showed that the proposed system saved 30% annual energy consumption relative to a reference air-source heat pump system.
Keywords
Pv/t, Heat pump, Radiative cooling, Energy saving