Solar Assisted Heat Pump Systems Based on Hybrid PVT Collectors for the Provision of Hot Water, Cooling and Electricity in Buildings
Abstract
This work aims to assess the techno-economic performance of solar hybrid PVT collectors integrated via thermal storage tanks with an air-to-water reversible vapour-compression (rev-VC) unit. Real weather data along with the actual heating, cooling and electricity demands of an industrial building are inputs to the transient model. Different configurations are analysed varying the number of PVT collectors and the storage tanks’ volumes. Radiative cooling of the PVT collectors is also considered to satisfy the cooling demand. The results show that the proposed systems have the potential to cover 19.2% to 46.5% of the cooling demand through radiative cooling, depending on the number of PVT collectors, thus decreasing the electricity consumed by the rev-VC. All the analysed configurations can also cover >60% of the demand for heat at 60ºC and between 31.7% to 48.5% of the electricity demand of the analysed building. The systems have a payback time of <10 years. The selected system, consisting of 16 PVT collectors (26.1 m2) and 2 tanks of 350 L each one, is currently being manufactured and will be tested under real weather conditions from middle September 2020.