First and second law analysis of a solar assisted heat pump based heating system

We propose a model for the heating system of an ecological building whose main energy source is solar radiation. The most important component of the heating system is a vapour compression heat pump. Both the first law and the second law were used to analyse the heat pump operation. The state parameters and the process quantities were evaluated by using, as input, the building thermal load. The second law analysis emphasised that most of the exergy losses occur during compression and condensation. Preliminary results show that the photovoltaic array can provide all the energy required to drive the heat pump compressor, if an appropriate electrical energy storage system is provided.