Numerical Study of the Effect of Hybrid Solar Collectors on the Performances of the System Combining PVT With Heat Pumps
Abstract
Photovoltaic Thermal solar panels (PVT) are an interesting technology that converts solar energy into both electricity and heat in only one unit. This technology improves the conversion process efficiency of solar energy and optimizes the occupied area on the roof. When PVT are used as heat source of heat pumps (HP), the system can provide both space heating and domestic hot water efficiently and environmental-friendly. Indeed, the produced heat feeds the evaporator and the produced electricity can be consumed by the system. The given paper presents a numerical study on the effect of the number and the characteristics of PVT on the system performances. Transient simulations are performed with TRNSYS using a variable speed HP. The obtained results show that the most influencing parameter is the first order heat losses coefficient (b1) compared to the optical efficiency (η0) of PVT: system performances are improved when b1 increases.