Experimental investigation on a novel wind-to-heat system with high efficiency

Abstract

Using renewable energy for heating has attracted more attentions in recent years. In this study, a novel wind-to-heat system that uses the wind turbine to drive the compressor directly, is proposed. Since there is no intermediate electric energy conversion link, the energy loss of the system is evidently reduced compared with conventional wind-heating systems. To verify the performance of this system, a prototype of that was established in the north of China and a series of tests had been conducted under different wind conditions. A four-stage smart control strategy for this system was developed by considering different response dynamics of the wind turbine and heat pump. It guarantees the system having high heating efficiency over the entire wind speed range. According to the test results, the rated heating capacity of the system is 150 kW with the rated wind speed being 9 m/s. The coefficient of performance of the system is approximately 3, the maximum power coefficient is 0.45, and the primary energy ratio exceeds 100%. At last, the inherent characteristics of the system are revealed and possibilities of further optimizations of the system are discussed.