Performance analysis of hybrid solar-geothermal CO2 heat pump system for residential heating

A simulation study of hybrid solar-geothermal heat pump system for residential applications using carbon dioxide was carried out under different operating conditions. The system consists of a solar unit (concentric evacuated tube solar collector and heat storage tank) and a CO₂ heat pump unit (three double-pipe heat exchangers, electric expansion valve, and compressor). As a result, the differential of pressure ratio between the inlet and the outlet of the compressor increases by 19.9%, and the compressor work increases from 4.5 to 5.3 kW when the operating temperature of the heat pump rises from 40 °C to 48 °C. Besides, the pressure ratio of the compressor decreases from 3 to 2.5 when the ground temperature increases from 11 °C to 19 °C. The operating time of the heat pump is reduced by 5 h as the daily solar radiation increases. As the solar radiation increases from 1 to 20 MJ/m², the collector heat rises by 48% and the maximum collector heat becomes 47.8 kWh. The heating load increases by 70% as the indoor design temperature increases from 18 °C to 26 °C. However, the solar fraction is reduced from 11.4% to 5.8% because of the increases of the heating load.     

Investigation of solar hybrid system with concentrating Fresnel lens,photovoltaic and thermoelectric generators

An experimental model of a solar hybrid system including photovoltaic (PV) module, concentrating Fresnel lens, thermoelectric generator (TEG), and running water heat extracting unit was created and studied. The PV module used was of c‐Si and TEG of Bi₂Te₃; the Fresnel lens (solar concentrator) and TEG share an optical train, whereas PV module was illuminated separately with non‐concentrated light. Heat extracting unit operated in thermo siphon mode. In climatic conditions of Mexico (Queretaro, 20^o of North latitude, summer time), the Fresnel lens accepted 120 W of solar radiation power, and the system generated 7.0 W of electric power and 30 W of thermal one. The discussion is made of the possible characteristics of a hypothetical hybrid system where all its elements share the same optical train. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solar hybrid systems with thermoelectric generators

The possibility of using of thermoelectric generators in solar hybrid systems has been investigated. Four systems were examined, one working without radiation concentration, of the traditional PV/Thermal geometry, but with TEGs between the solar cells and heat extractor, and three other using concentrators, namely: concentrator – TEG ? heat extractor, concentrator ? PV cell ? TEG ? heat extractor, and PV cell – concentrator – TEG – heat extractor. The TEGs based on traditional semiconductor material Bi₂Te₃ and designed for temperature interval of 50–200 °C were studied experimentally. It was found that the TEG’s efficiency has almost linear dependence on the temperature difference ΔT between its plates, reaching 4% at ΔT = 155 °C (hot plate at 200 °C) with 3 W of power generated over the matched load. The temperature dependencies of current and voltage are also linear; accordingly, the power generated has quadratic temperature dependence. The experimental parameters, as well as parameters of two advanced TEGs taken from the literature, were used for estimation of performance of the hybrid systems. The conclusions are drawn in relation to the efficiency at different modes of operation and the cost of hybrid systems, as well as some recommendations in relation to optimal solar cells for applications in these systems.     

Hydrogen production from solar energy powered supercritical cycle using carbon dioxide

A hydrogen production method is proposed, which utilizes solar energy powered thermodynamic cycle using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) as working fluid for the combined production of hydrogen and thermal energy. The proposed system consists of evacuated solar collectors, power generating turbine, water electrolysis, heat recovery system, and feed pump. In the present study, an experimental prototype has been designed and constructed. The performance of the cycle is tested experimentally under different weather conditions. CO₂ is efficiently converted into supercritical state in the collector, the CO₂ temperature reaches about 190 °C in summer days, and even in winter days it can reach about 80 °C. Such a high-temperature realizes the combined production of electricity and thermal energy. Different from the electrochemical hydrogen production via solar battery-based water splitting on hand, which requires the use of solar batteries with high energy requirements, the generated electricity in the supercritical cycle can be directly used to produce hydrogen gas from water. The amount of hydrogen gas produced by using the electricity generated in the supercritical cycle is about 1035 g per day using an evacuated solar collector of 100.0 m² for per family house in summer conditions, and it is about 568.0 g even in winter days. Additionally, the estimated heat recovery efficiency is about 0.62. Such a high efficiency is sufficient to illustrate the cycle performance.     

Performance analysis on a novel micro‐channel heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector‐incorporated thermoelectric generation

In China, because of the emergence of a large number of high‐rise buildings, the solar hot water heater system often uses the balcony wall‐mounted method for installation. The thermoelectric energy converter is proposed as one of the possible technologies to incorporate solar water heater to produce electricity for building application. In this paper, the conceptual development and theoretical analysis of a novel micro‐channel heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector‐incorporated thermoelectric generation are all proposed. The new system takes into account many advantages, including the high heat transfer, low convective heat loss, and low contact thermal resistance. The exergy analysis method based on the second law of thermodynamics is also introduced to evaluate the performance of this system. The results show that a novel micro‐channel heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector‐incorporated thermoelectric generation has a high thermal performance with addition of electricity production. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical evaluation and analysis of an internal low-concentrated evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector for powering solar air-conditioning systems

An optical evaluation and analysis of an internal low-concentrating evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector designed to enhance the collection of solar radiation for medium temperature applications is presented in this paper. The internal low-concentrating evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector was designed with an acceptance angle of 20° given a geometrical concentration ratio of 2.92. The truncation of the upper part of the reflector giving a geometrical concentration ratio of 1.95 was carried and enabled the internal low-concentrating evacuated tube heat pipe collector to be enclosed by a borosilicate glass tube with 100 mm and 93 mm outer and inner diameters, respectively. Ray trace analysis at different transverse angles determines optical efficiencies, related optical losses and flux distribution on the absorber of the internal low-concentrating evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector. A detailed two dimensional ray trace techniques considering only the direct insolation component predicated overall ray’s acceptance of 93.72% and optical efficiency of 79.13% from transverse angles of 0° to 20°.     

A theoretical study on area compensation for non-directly-south-facing solar collectors

Solar energy integrated with the building is an important approach for the synchronous development of solar energy and architecture. The energy gain of the solar collector integrated with the pitched roof has been greatly influenced by the roof azimuth and tilted angle. Investment cost of the collectors is mainly decided by the size of the collector area. Accordingly, it is significant for solar building design to economically determinate the area compensation of the solar collector at different azimuth and tilted angles. Take Kunming and Beijing as examples, area compensation for the flat-plate tube-fin solar collector used in southern regions and the evacuated tube collector with cylindrical absorbers used in northern regions in China have been theoretically calculated. The results to some extent show that the daily horizontal solar radiation, ambient temperature, the azimuth and tilted angle of the collector integrated into the roof have an influence on the area compensation. The azimuth angle and tilted angle of the roof are the main factors that influence the A/A₀, which is defined as the collector area ratio of the non-south-facing collectors to the south-facing ones with the optimal tilted angle. Comparative studies found that the range of A/A₀ for the evacuated tube collector used in the northern regions is close to that for the flat-plate tube-fin solar collector used in the southern regions. When the pitched roof tilted angle β ∈ [25°, 45°] and the azimuth angle ∣γ∣ ⩽ 30°, the collectors can intercept a lot of solar radiant-energy. Considering the economic situations of the ordinary consumers in China, the optimal area compensation A/A₀ ⩽ 1.30 is recommended in this paper.     

Fabrication and testing of a non-glass vacuum-tube collector for solar energy utilization

An evacuated tubular solar collector was fabricated from acrylics for improved resistance to shattering. A plasmatron was employed to apply a thin gas-barrier coating to the surfaces of the plastic tube to prevent/alleviate gas infiltration. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of vacuum level on the performance of the non-glass vacuum-tube solar collector. Inserted in the evacuated tube was a finned heat pipe for solar energy collection and heat transfer to a water tank. Time variations of temperatures on the heat pipe surface and in the water tank were recorded and analyzed for different degrees of vacuum in the collector. The steady-state temperature of the non-glass collector was compared to that of a commercial glass vacuum-tube collector to assess the feasibility of the use of evacuated plastic tubes for solar energy collection. A simple analytical model was also developed to assist in understanding and analyzing the transient behavior and heat losses of the vacuum-tube solar collector.     

The potential applications and advantages of powering solar air-conditioning systems using concentrator augmented solar collectors

Non-concentrated evacuated tube heat pipe solar collectors have been reported to show higher fluid temperatures with improved thermal performance in the low to medium temperature range (?60 °C) due to low heat losses but suffer higher heat losses at the medium to higher temperature range (?80 °C) which reduces their efficiency compared to concentrated evacuated tube heat pipe solar collectors. To operate as stand-alone systems capable of attaining temperatures in the range of 70-120 °C, an innovative concentrator augmented solar collector can be an attractive option. The performance of a combined low-concentrator augmented solar collector in an array of evacuated tube heat pipe solar collectors defined as concentrator augmented evacuated tube heat pipe array (CAETHPA) and an array of evacuated tube heat pipe collectors (ETHPC) were tested and compared and results presented in this paper. The analysis of the experimental data allows concluding that the use of a CAETHPA is a more efficient alternative for integrating renewable energy into buildings with higher fluid temperature response, energy collection and lower heat loss coefficient compared to the use of evacuated tube heat pipe collector array (ETHPA).     

Dynamic performance of a façade-based solar loop heat pipe water heating system

This paper reported a dedicated study of a novel façade-based solar loop heat pipe (LHP) water heating system using both theoretical and experimental methods. This system employs a modular panel incorporating a unique loop heat pipe that is able to serve as part of the building façade or a decoration layer of the façade, thus creating a façade integrated, low cost, highly efficient and aesthetically appealing solar water heating structure. Taking into account heat balances occurring in different parts of the system, e.g., solar absorber, heat pipes loop, heat exchanger and storage tank, a dedicated computer model was developed to investigate the dynamic performance of the system. An experimental rig was also established to evaluate the performance of such a prototype system through measurement of various operational parameters, e.g., solar radiation, temperatures and flow rates of the heat pipe fluid and water. Through comparison between the testing and modelling results, the model has been approved to be able to give a reasonable accuracy for predicting the performance of the LHP system. Two types of glass covers, i.e., double glazed/evacuated tubes and single-glazing plate, were applied to the prototype. It was found that for both covers, the heat pipe fluid temperature rose dramatically at the start-up operation and afterwards remained a slow but steady growth; while the water temperature remained a steadily growing trend throughout the operational day. The temperature rise of the circulated water at 1.6 l/min of flow rate was around 13.5 °C in the double-glazed/evacuated tubes based system and 10 °C in the single-glazing based system; correspondingly, their average solar conversion efficiencies were 48.8% and 36%, and the COPs were 14 and 10.5 respectively. In overall, the double-glazed/evacuated tubes based system presented a better performance than the single glazing based one.     

Thermal effect of a thermoelectric generator on parallel microchannel heat sink

Thermoelectric generators (TEG) convert heat energy to electrical power by means of semiconductor charge carriers serving as working fluid. In this work, a TEG is applied to a parallel microchannel heat sink. The effect of the inlet plenum arrangement on the laminar flow distribution in the channels is considered at a wide range of the pressure drop along the heat sink. The particular focus of this study is geometrical effect of the TEG on the heat transfer characteristics in the micro-heat sink. The hydraulic diameter of the microchannels is 270 μm, and three heat fluxes are applied on the hot surface of the TEG. By considering the maximum temperature limitation for Bi₂Te₃ material and using the microchannel heat sink for cooling down the TEG system, an optimum pumping power is achieved. The results are in a good agreement with the previous experimental and theoretical studies.     

Parametrical analysis of the design and performance of a solar heat pipe thermoelectric generator unit

This paper describes a solar heat pipe thermoelectric generator (SHP-TEG) unit comprising an evacuated double-skin glass tube, a finned heat pipe and a TEG module. The system takes the advantage of heat pipe to convert the absorbed solar irradiation to a high heat flux to meet the TEG operating requirement. An analytical model of the SHP-TEG unit is presented for the condition of constant solar irradiation, which may lead to different performance characteristics and optimal design parameters compared with the condition of constant temperature difference usually dealt with in other studies. The analytical model presents the complex influence of basic parameters such as solar irradiation, cooling water temperature, thermoelement length and cross-section area and number of thermoelements, etc. on the maximum power output and conversion efficiency of the SHP-TEG. Simulation based on the analytical model has been carried out to study the performance and design optimization of the SHP-TEG.     

Experimental study on the performance of solar Rankine system using supercritical CO2

An experimental study is carried out to investigate the performance of a solar Rankine system using supercritical CO₂ as a working fluid. The testing machine of the solar Rankine system consists of an evacuated solar collector, a pressure relief valve, heat exchangers and CO₂ feed pump, etc. The solar energy powered system can provide electricity output as well as heat supply/refrigeration, etc. The system performance is evaluated based on daily, monthly and yearly experiment data. The results obtained show that heat collection efficiency for the CO₂-based solar collector is measured at 65.0–70.0%. The power generation efficiency is found at 8.78–9.45%, which is higher than the value 8.20% of a solar cell. The result presents a potential future for the solar powered CO₂ Rankine system to be used as distributed energy supply system for buildings or others.     

Numerical simulation of nanostructured thermoelectric generator considering surface to surrounding convection

Thermoelectric systems (TE) can directly convert heat to electricity and vice-versa by using semiconductor materials. Therefore, coupling between heat transfer and electric field potential is important to predict the performance of thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems. This paper develops a general two-dimensional numerical model of a TEG system using nanostructured thermoelectric semiconductor materials. A TEG with p-type nanostructured material of Bismuth Antimony Telluride (BiSbTe) and n-type Bismuth Telluride (Bi₂Te₃) with 0.1 vol.% Silicon Carbide (SiC) nanoparticles is considered for performance evaluations. Coupled TE equations with temperature dependant transport properties are used after incorporating Fourier heat conduction, Joule heating, Seebeck effect, Peltier effect, and Thomson effect. The effects of temperature difference between the hot and cold junctions and surface to surrounding convective on different output parameters (e.g., thermal and electric fields, power generation, thermal efficiency, and current) are studied. Selected results obtained from current numerical analysis are compared with the results obtained from analytical model available in the literature. There is a good agreement between the numerical and analytical results. The numerical results show that as temperature difference increases output power and amount of current generated increase. Moreover, it is quite apparent that convective boundary condition deteriorates the performance of TEG.     

The integration of parabolic trough solar collectors and evacuated tube collectors to geothermal resource for electricity and hydrogen production

In this study, electricity and hydrogen production of an integrated system with energy and exergy analyses are investigated. The system also produces clean water for the water electrolysis system. The proposed system comprises evacuated tube solar collectors (ETSCs), parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSCs), flash turbine, organic Rankine cycles (ORC), a reverse osmosis unit (RO), a water electrolysis unit (PEM), a greenhouse and a medium temperature level geothermal resource. The surface area of each collector is 500 m². The thermodynamics analysis of the integrated system is carried out under daily solar radiation for a day in August. The fluid temperature of the medium temperature level geothermal resource is upgraded by ETSCs and PTSCs to operate the flash turbine and the ORCs. The temperature of the geothermal fluid is upgraded from 130 °C to 323.6 °C by the ETSCs and PTSCs. As a result, it is found that the integrated system generates 162 kg clean water, 1215.63 g hydrogen, and total electrical energy of 2111.04 MJ. The maximum energy and exergy efficiencies of the overall system are found as 10.43% and 9.35%, respectively.     

Heat extraction efficiency of a concentric glass tubular evacuated collector

The results of detailed measurements and calculations of the properties of Sydney University/Nitto Kohki evacuated collector tubes have been used to develop a formula for the instantaneous heat extraction efficiency η of a collector panel incorporating the evacuated tubes. The instantaneous efficiency depends on ambient temperature, mean fluid temperature in the collector, solar flux and the design of the manifold used to extract heat from the glass absorber tubes. Manifold design determines the mean temperature difference between absorber tube surface and mean fluid temperature for given operating conditions, and strongly affects the efficiency η of a collector panel. Neither changes in the number of evacuated tubes per unit area of collector, nor variations in solar flux, significantly alter the efficiency decrement Δ η₀ associated with a particular manifold design. Calculated efficiencies agree well with experimental results for collector panels incorporating manifolds of various designs. The formula for efficiency η allows detailed analysis of the relative importance of various energy loss mechanisms in a collector.     

CPC内聚光式热管集热管温度特性研究

为提高太阳能热水系统的输出温度,将CPC聚光技术应用于热管式真空集热管中,开发了一种新型的CPC内聚光式热管集热管。对该集热管建立数学模型,模拟计算其传热过程,获得了导热肋片温度、热管冷凝段温度等参数随太阳辐射强度的变化规律,并通过试验验证了数学模型的可靠性;与常规热管式真空管集热管传热特性相对比,证实了该集热管可大幅提高太阳能热水器输出温度。     

Comparative thermal performance evaluation of an active solar distillation system

In this paper, thermal models of all types of solar collector‐integrated active solar stills are developed based on basic energy balance equations in terms of inner and outer glass temperatures. In this paper, hourly yield, hourly exergy efficiency, and hourly overall thermal efficiency of active solar stills are evaluated for 0.05 m water depth. All numerical computations had been performed for a typical day in the month of 07 December 2005 for the climatic conditions of New Delhi (28°35′N, 77°12′E, 216 m above MSL). The thermal model of flat‐plate collector integrated with active solar still was validated using the experimental test set‐up results. Total daily yield from active solar still integrated with evacuated tube collector with heat pipe is 4.24 kg m^?2 day^?1, maximum among all other types of active solar stills. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of a novel solar energy-powered Rankine cycle for combined power and heat generation using supercritical carbon dioxide

Theoretical analysis of a solar energy-powered Rankine thermodynamic cycle utilizing an innovative new concept, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid, is presented. In this system, a truly ‘natural’ working fluid, carbon dioxide, is utilized to generate firstly electricity power and secondly high-grade heat power and low-grade heat power. The uniqueness of the system is in the way in which both solar energy and carbon dioxide, available in abundant quantities in all parts of the world, are simultaneously used to build up a thermodynamic cycle and has the potential to reduce energy shortage and greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, offering environmental and personal safety simultaneously. The system consists of an evacuated solar collector system, a power-generating turbine, a high-grade heat recovery system, a low-grade heat recovery system and a feed pump. The performances of this CO₂-based Rankine cycle were theoretically investigated and the effects of various design conditions, namely, solar radiation, solar collector area and CO₂ flow rate, were studied. Numerical simulations show that the proposed system may have electricity power efficiency and heat power efficiency as high as 11.4% and 36.2%, respectively. It is also found that the cycle performances strongly depend on climate conditions. Also the electricity power and heat power outputs increase with the collector area and CO₂ flow rate. The estimated COP_power and COP_heat increase with the CO₂ flow rate, but decrease with the collector area. The CO₂-based cycle can be optimized to provide maximum power, maximum heat recovery or a combination of both. The results suggest the potential of this new concept for applications to electricity power and heat power generation.     

Design and transient-based analysis of a power to hydrogen (P2H2) system for an off-grid zero energy building with hydrogen energy storage

In this study, zero energy building (ZEB) with four occupants in the capital and most populated city of Iran as one of the biggest greenhouse gas producers is simulated and designed to reduce Iran's greenhouse emissions. Due to the benefits of hydrogen energy and its usages, it is used as the primary energy storage of this building. Also, the thermal comfort of occupants is evaluated using the Fanger model, and domestic hot water consumption is supplied. Using hydrogen energy as energy storage of an off-grid zero energy building in Iran by considering occupant thermal comfort using the fanger model has been presented for the first time in this study. The contribution of electrolyzer and fuel cell in supplying domestic hot water is shown. For this simulation, Trnsys software is used. Using Trnsys software, the transient performance of mentioned ZEB is evaluated in a year. PV panels are used for supplying electricity consumption of the building. Excess produced electricity is converted to hydrogen and stored in the hydrogen tank when a lack of sunrays exists and electricity is required. An evacuated tube solar collector is used to produce hot water. The produced hot water will be stored in the hot water tank. For supplying the cooling load, hot water fired water-cooled absorption chiller is used. Also, a fan coil with hot water circulation and humidifier are used for heating and humidifying the building. Domestic hot water consumption of the occupants is supplied using stored hot water and rejected heat of fuel cell and the electrolyzer. The thermal comfort of occupants is evaluated using the Fanger model with MATLAB software. Results show that using 64 m² PV panel power consumption of the building is supplied without a power outage, and final hydrogen pressure tank will be higher than its initial and building will be zero energy. Required hot water of the building is provided with 75 m² evacuated tube solar collector. The HVAC system of the building provided thermal comfort during a year. The monthly average of occupant predicted mean vote (PMV) is between ?0.4 and 0.4. Their predicted percentage of dissatisfaction (PPD) is lower than 13%. Also, supplied domestic hot water (DHW) always has a temperature of 50 °C, which is a setpoint temperature of DHW. Finally, it can be concluded that using the building's rooftop area can be transformed to ZEB and reduce a significant amount of greenhouse emissions of Iran. Also, it can be concluded that fuel cell rejected heat, unlike electrolyzer, can significantly contribute to supplying domestic hot water requirements. Rejected heat of electrolyzer for heating domestic water can be ignored.