Numerical Study of the Effect of the System Specifications on the Performance of a Brine/Water Heat Pump in Combination with Photovoltaic Thermal Solar Collectors
Abstract
Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) collectors are an exciting energy technology that produces both heat and electricity. They offer a very suitable source for brine-to-water heat pumps (HP), as PVT can be used as the direct heat source for the evaporator and additionally provide electricity for the compressor. The system combines HP and PVT to offer an efficient energy solution for the heat demands of buildings. However, there are still many uncertainties about the system design and configuration. The main goal of this paper is to study the effect of the different hydraulic configurations and the system specifications on the overall system performance. For instance, the simulative study for Strasbourg shows that the heat pump with a minimum temperature limit at the evaporator inlet of -15°C enhances by 20 % the Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) compared to a temperature limit of -10°C. However, the higher temperature limit has a negligeable impact on the system's performance. Moreover, it has also been shown that the self-consumed photovoltaic energy improves by 7% the overall system performance.