Performance evaluation method of solar-assisted heat pump water heater

The present study derives a simple linear correlation for the performance evaluation of different solar-assisted heat pump water heater (ISAHP). The correlation was derived from the principle of energy conservation with some simplifications. The correlation is then verified using the long-term outdoor field test data of four different ISAHP. The problems of seasonal repeatability and method of data scattering were examined. From that, a standard performance test method is proposed. The test method suggests that only the measurement of instantaneous solar incident radiation on horizontal surface, ambient temperature, hot water temperature in the storage tank, total mass of water in the storage tank and total power input to the ISAHP are required. It is suggested to select the value of COP at T_f − T_a,ave = 15 °C as the characteristic COP for performance comparison of ISAHP. It is found from the test results that the same performance correlation holds for ISAHP operating with single or dual energy source.     

Performance analysis of a solar-assisted heat pump water heater

A modeling and system simulation of an integral-type solar assisted heat pump water heater (ISAHP) was carried out in the present study. The modeling and simulation assumes a quasi-steady process for all the components in the ISAHP except the storage tank. The simulation results for instantaneous performance agreed very well with experiment. The simulation technique was used to analyze the daily performance of an ISAHP for 1 year. It is shown that the daily total COP (COP_o) is around 1.7 to 2.5 year around for the ISAHP, depending on seasons and weather conditions. COP_o is higher than 2.0 for most of the time in a year and the daily operating time varies from 4 to 8 h. The online adjustment requirement of the expansion valve was also investigated using the present simulation technique. The analysis shows that the expansion device does not need to be controlled online. Using the 1-year simulation results, a universal daily performance correlation of the ISAHP was derived and shown experimentally to be applicable to another design of ISAHP.     

Performance analysis and cost optimization of a solar-assisted heat pump system

A solar-assisted heat pump system with a conventional backup unit was simulated for a 93 m² (1000 ft²) house in Rhode Island using quasi-dynamic computer models. The performance of the system as a function of collector area and thermal storage volume was evaluated to determine the fraction of the space heating and domestic hot water load that was supplied by the solar-assisted system. This information was used to compute the payback time, based on cumulative costs, for each variation of the system's parameters when compared to a conventional system. The optimal combination of system components which had a payback time less than the mortgage life was determined. For the given initial costs of solar panels and storage reservoir, this optimal combination was found to be insensitive to the variations in mortgage and fuel cost growth rates presented in this report.     

直膨式太阳能热泵系统性能分析及优化

直膨式太阳能热泵利用少量电能将太阳能的低品位能量转移至高品位,具有清洁、高效的优点,目前正成为节能领域的研究热点,近年来取得了飞速发展.国内外众多学者作了相关研究并取得了一定的成果.概述了直膨式太阳能热泵在国内外的研究进展,总结了内部参数和外部参数等方面对直膨式太阳能热泵系统性能的影响.针对不同的影响因素,给出了多种提高直膨式太阳能热泵系统性能的策略,以期对直膨式太阳能热泵的发展有一定的促进作用.     

Integral-type solar-assisted heat pump water heater

An integral-type solar-assisted heat pump water heater (ISAHP) is designed and tested in the present study. The storage tank and the Rankine cycle unit are integrated together to make a more compact size. A thermosyphon loop is used to transfer the heat from the condenser to the water storage tank. The highest COP obtained in the tests is 3.83.     

Heat-pipe enhanced solar-assisted heat pump water heater

A heat-pipe enhanced solar-assisted heat pump water heater (HPSAHP) is studied. HPSAHP is a heat pump with dual heat sources that combines the performance of conventional heat pump and solar heat pipe collector. HPSAHP operates in heat-pump mode when solar radiation is low and in heat-pipe mode without electricity consumption when solar radiation is high. HPSAHP can thus achieve high energy efficiency. A prototype was designed and built in the present study. An outdoor test for a HPSAHP in the present study has shown that COP of the hybrid-mode operation can reach 3.32, an increase of 28.7% as compared to the heat-pump mode COP (2.58).     

Long-term performance of solar-assisted heat pump water heater

A long-term reliability test of an integral-type solar-assisted heat pump water heater (ISAHP) was carried out. The prototype has been running continuously for more than 13,000 h with total running time >20,000 h during the past 5 yr. The measured energy consumption is 0.019 kWh/l of hot water at 57 ^oC that is much less than the backup electric energy consumption of the conventional solar water heater.     

Optimal performance of an irreversible solar-assisted heat pump

The thermodynamic optimization of a mechanically driven solar heat pump is presented. A new expression to describe the optimal thermal performance under finite operating conditions considering the internal and external irreversibilities during actual operation is derived. The optimum ratio between the condenser and collector–evaporator conductances (UA) determines the coefficient of performance (COP) for the maximum heating load of the system. An experimental air-R22 heat pump was used to determine the traditional performance parameters (COP and second law efficiency) which are compared with those obtained using the expressions derived in this work. Results show that the new model very closely represents the performance of real systems.     

Thermal performance of a direct expansion solar-assisted heat pump

A direct expansion solar assisted heat pump, in which a bare flat plate collector also acts as the evaporator for the refrigerant, Freon-12, is designed and operated. The system components, e.g. the collector and the compressor, are properly matched so as to result in system operating conditions wherein the collector/evaporator temperature ranges from 0 to 10°C above ambient temperature under favorable solar conditions. This operating temperature range is particularly favorable to improved heat pump and solar collector performance. The system thermal performance is determined by measuring refrigerant flow rate, temperature and pressure at various points in the system. The heat pump COP_H and the solar collector efficiency ranged from 2.0 to 3.0 and from 40 to 70 per cent, respectively, for widely ranging ambient and operating conditions. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system offers significant advantage in terms of superior thermal performance when compared with results gotten by replacing the solar evaporator with a standard outdoor fan-coil unit.     

直接膨胀式太阳能热泵系统的理论分析

简述了直接膨胀式太阳能热泵的基本工作原理,从热力学理论出发,对直接膨胀式太阳能热泵的循环进行了理论热力分析,提出了系统各主要部件的能量平衡和火用平衡方程,分析了系统的性能系数COP和火用效率Eη。     

Thermodynamic and economic evaluation of a solar-assisted heat pump

A solar-assisted heat-pump system is proposed to supply heat for industrial processes in the range 100 to 130°C. The system is economically superior to electrical heating and solar-only systems, and is competitive with fuel burning systems.     

Exergy analysis and optimization of a solar-assisted heat pump

A theoretical and experimental exergy analysis of a solar-assisted heat pump for air heating is presented. An experimental prototype that operates as a solar-assisted or as a conventional heat pump was tested to determine exergetic efficiency, total system irreversibility and component irreversibilities. A methodology for determination of the optimum temperature of the working fluid in the evaporation and condensation steps is proposed. The methodology is based on maximization of efficiency in these two parts of the system.     

太阳能电池与热泵热水器联合运行系统性能分析

为了降低太阳能光伏电池的温度,同时提升热泵热水器的蒸发温度,利用循环水路冷却太阳能光伏电池,并将热量传递给热泵热水器的蒸发器,构成联合运行系统。针对杭州市的夏季和冬季气象条件,对该联合运行系统的性能进行了计算,分析了对应不同太阳能电池温度下的系统运行参数的变化情况,包括太阳能电池发电效率和所需换热量,热泵热水器的制热量以及热泵效率等。计算结果表明,该联合运行系统能够同时提高太阳能电池光伏转换效率和热泵效率。     

太阳能辅助热泵干燥粮食的数值模拟研究

粮食的干燥过程实质上是多孔介质热湿耦合传递的过程。基于多孔介质热质传递理论,通过数值模拟的方法,针对利用太阳能辅助热泵干燥粮食时热风随时间变化的情况,采用综合温度和空气绝对湿度作为瞬态边界条件来对干燥过程中粮食内部温度和水分的变化进行模拟研究。模拟结果显示小麦水分在干燥150h后达到安全水分13.6%(干基),而实验结果显示小麦水分在干燥135h后达到安全水分13.6%(干基),二者对比相差不大,并且模拟温度与试验温度吻合较好。     

Two-stage direct expansion solar-assisted heat pump for high temperature applications

Direct expansion solar-assisted heat pump (DX-SAHP) systems have been proposed as viable alternatives to conventional solar-assisted heat pump systems. This study proposes the use of two-stage DX-SAHP systems for high temperature applications in the range of 60–90 °C. The study investigates the capability of these systems of meeting loads with high temperature requirements. The thermal performance of the systems is analyzed for refrigerant R-134a, using a one-cover solar collector. Comparisons between the two-stage DX-SAHP and the single-stage DX-SAHP systems are performed and presented. A graphical procedure is illustrated and used for sizing the solar collector area and the heat pump compressor displacement capacity for the two DX-SAHP systems.     

A solar-assisted heat pump system for heating and cooling residences

A significant impact of solar energy applications on the total energy demand requires systems or devices which can be retrofitted to existing energy users. The all-electric residence unit, which includes about 10 per cent of all such units in the U.S.A. and constitutes over half of those completed in 1973, seems particularly suited to a solar modification. It is proposed that heating and cooling of the all-electric residence unit be accomplished by using a solar-assisted heat-pump system. The proposed system makes use of a conventional air-conditioning unit which would be modified by fitting controls to reverse the flow of refrigerant for the heating mode and by changing the outdoor heat exchanger from refrigerant-to-air to refrigerant-to-water. In addition, there would be provided a solar collector and two insulated water-storage tanks. Water from one tank would be circulated through the refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger when needed and then returned to the other tank, so that essentially a source of heat of constant temperature would be maintained, thus decreasing the temperature interval for the heat pump and thereby saving energy. In the cooling mode the stored water would be cooled by exposure of the solar collector to the night sky to decrease the temperature interval for the heat pump, thereby reducing energy consumption. Calculations were made for an existing residence unit for which the total energy input is known and to which the proposed solar-assisted heat-pump system is applied. An estimated cost of equipment and of its operation is compared with the cost of owning and operating fuel and electrically heated systems. It is concluded that the solar-assisted heat-pump system with current fuel prices can provide immediate economic benefit over the all-electric home and is possibly on par with residences using fuel oil or liquefied petroleum gas, but it yields higher cost over systems using natural gas. The effect of a two-phase expander to replace the expansion valve in the refrigerant circuit has been theoretically investigated. It shows a significant energy saving worthy of further economic and practical consideration.     

Thermal performance analysis of a direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump water heater

A direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump water heater (DX-SAHPWH) is described, which can supply hot water for domestic use during the whole year. The system mainly employs a bare flat-plate collector/evaporator with a surface area of 4.2 m², an electrical rotary-type hermetic compressor, a hot water tank with the volume of 150 L and a thermostatic expansion valve. R-22 is used as working fluid in the system. A simulation model based on lumped and distributed parameter approach is developed to predict the thermal performance of the system. Given the structure parameters, meteorological parameters, time step and final water temperature, the numerical model can output operational parameters, such as heat capacity, system COP and collector efficiency. Comparisons between the simulation results and the experimental measurements show that the model is able to give satisfactory predictions. The effect of various parameters, including solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed and compressor speed, has been analyzed on the thermal performance of the system.     

Transient simulation of a capacity-modulated, direct-expansion, solar-assisted heat pump

The long-term thermal performance of a direct-expansion, solar-assisted heat pump is determined from the transient simulation of the system. The system employs a bare collector that also acts as the heat pump evaporator. Of particular interest in this study is the configuration in which the compressor and the collector area are properly matched from the long-term thermal performance point of view. This matching is achieved through multistep as well as two-step compressor capacity modulation. In addition to examining the effects of compressor capacity modulation, the effects of various system parameters such as collector area, storage volume, load temperature, wind speed, collector slope, and refrigerant properties are also studied in detail.Monthly averaged thermal performance parameters such as the heat pump system coefficient of performance are determined by executing a computer simulation program that uses the typical meterological year (TMY) solar data for Norfolk, Virginia. Results indicate that the system performance is governed strongly by collector area, compressor RPM, load temperature, and refrigerant properties. The remaining parameters have only weak influence on the long-term system performance of direct expansion solar-assisted heat pump (SAHP) system considered in this study.     

Performance characteristics of a high temperature water-to-water heat pump

A simulation model is utilized to predict the performance of a high temperature water-to-water heat pump, running on Refrigerant 11, over a range of evaporator and condenser water temperature (10 to 40°C and 40 to 70°C) and compressor speeds (500 to 3000 r.p.m.). It is shown that heat pump power output can be effectively controlled by varying compressor speed. Effects of compressor speed, heat source and heat sink (end-use) temperature on the heat pump efficiency are presented. Special attention is devoted to the values of predicted refrigerant temperature at the compressor discharge. These are compared with the thermal limit of the refrigerant. Modifications to the system, to reduce refrigerant maximum temperature, are also discussed.