Simulation analysis on the operational characteristics of a novel wind-to-heat system

Abstract

The growing demand for energy and the pressure of carbon emission increase the proportion of renewable energy in the global energy consumption. In the wind-to-heat system, the compressor is utilized to replace the generator in the wind turbine to allow the wind energy driving heat pump directly, which simplifies the energy conversion process. In this study, a dynamic simulation model of the wind-to-heat system is proposed, which consists of the following six parts: wind turbine, compressor, condenser, thermal expansion valve, evaporator, and controller. Validations of this model was conducted by comparing the simulation result with the experimental data from a 100 kW wind-to-heat system. Effects of different operational conditions, such as hot water flow rate, inlet water temperature and types of refrigerants, on the characteristics of the system are explored and analyzed. The conclusion is drawn that the hot water flow rate is optimized as 3 kg/s, lower inlet water temperature led to lower heating capacity and lower COP, R245fa and R717 have good performances in heating production, which is in favor of the further design and optimize of the system. After debugging the simulation model for different design alternatives, different performances will be acquired to improve the efficiency of the design.