Abstract
A hybrid photovoltaic solar assisted loop heat pipe/heat pump (PV-SALHP/HP) water heater system has been developed and numerically studied. The system is the combination of loop heat pipe (LHP) mode and heat pump (HP) mode, and the two modes can be run separately or compositely according to the weather conditions. The performances of independent heat pump (HP) mode and hybrid loop heat pipe/heat pump (LHP/HP) mode were simulated and compared. Simulation results showed that on typical sunny days in spring or autumn, using LHP/HP mode could save 40.6% power consumption than HP mode. In addition, the optimal switchover from LHP mode to HP mode was analyzed in different weather conditions for energy saving and the all-year round operating performances of the system were also simulated. The simulation results showed that hybrid LHP/HP mode should be utilized to save electricity on sunny days from March to November and the system can rely on LHP mode alone without any power consumption in July and August. When solar radiation and ambient temperature are low in winter, HP mode should be used
Highlights
Aphotovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) hybrid solar system is a combination of a photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal system which produces both electricity and heat from one integrated system
The results indicated that a coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat pump as high as six could be obtained when the water temperature at the inlet of the condenser was at 40 ◦ C in the daytime in winter
33.7% lower than that of the independent heat pump (HP) mode, while the power consumed in the heating process of hybrid loop heat pipe (LHP)/HP mode was 0.853 kW·h, saving 40.6% of compressor power than independent HP mode
Summary
Aphotovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) hybrid solar system is a combination of a photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal system which produces both electricity and heat from one integrated system. Xu et al [11] numerically studied a PV/T heat pump system that had a modified collector/evaporator, and showed that this new system could efficiently generate electricity and thermal energy simultaneously both in Nanjing and Hong. The hybrid photovoltaic solar assisted loop heat pipe/heat pump (PV-SALHP/HP). For the hybrid PV-SALHP/HP system, the loop heat pipe (LHP) mode will be utilized when solar radiation is strong and the temperature of the working medium in the PVT evaporator is higher than that in the condenser. The heat pump (HP) mode will be started when solar radiation is weak or the temperature difference of the working medium in the PV/T evaporator and the condenser cannot satisfy the condition of the LHP mode. The all-year-round operating characteristics of the PV-SALHP/HP system were studied and are presented
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