Investigation of the energy performance of thermal energy sharing for photovoltaic-thermal systems in a thermal prosumer network

Abstract

This study analyzes the potential for energy saving through the integration of a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) system with a heat pump (HP) in a community with a small-scale thermal network. An empirical study was conducted in a community to analyze and compare the performance of a HP and small-scale thermal network with hub thermal energy storage system that utilizes the surplus thermal energy produced by a PVT system installed in a residential house from other buildings with that of an existing electric hot water boiler. The energy saving analysis of the proposed system revealed that the energy consumption could be reduced by more than 70 % compared to the existing system. The HP exhibited a COP ranging between 4.2 and 4.7. Throughout the experiment, the integrated system collected an average of 23.77 kWh of heat energy daily from the PVT units. The annual domestic hot water load coverage from PVT through the thermal network was found to be 50.4 %. These results indicate that PVT systems combined with thermal networks and HPs can effectively reduce energy consumption in individual buildings and enhance energy efficiency within communities.