Energy and Economic Analysis of a Solar Assisted Heat Pump for Pasteurization Process
Abstract
In the present paper, the energy and economic analysis of a solar-assisted heat pump for an industrial pasteurization process is investigated. The considered system consists of thermal energy storage, a water-to-water heat pump and a solar field made up of both photovoltaic-thermal collectors and evacuated tube collectors. A mathematical model of each component of the system is built and validated, while the overall model of the system is built with a bottom-up approach. The energetic and economic analysis is performed on a yearly basis varying the storage size and the solar field size and considering a boiler as the reference system. The results show that the best system could provide up to 90% of the energy required by the process and, consequently, significantly reduce CO2 emissions. From an economic point of view, the best solution provides a minimum payback time slightly lower than 8 years with 14.4% internal rate of return. key-words: hybrid heating system, industrial process, solar assisted heat pump.