Experimental study on the performance of heat pump water heating system coupled with air type PV/T collector

In this study, a heat pump water heating system coupled with an air type photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector with a transverse triangular obstacle was investigated experimentally in natural weather conditions. The performance of the heat pump combined with an air type PV/T solar collector was compared with an air source heat pump (ASHP). Also, the performance of the PV/T collector was also evaluated and compared with a PV module, which has no air flow in its air channel. As a result, the PV/T collector achieved higher power output than that of the PV module with additional thermal energy of about 30.28%. The overall efficiency of the PV/T collector was found to be 46.89%, which is 2.99 times higher than that of PV module. The average and maximum enhancement in COP value of a PV/T-assisted heat pump were found to be 3.12% and 8.57%, respectively, compared with an ASHP. Therefore, it was concluded that the PV/T-assisted heat pump not only provides a significant enhancement in heat pump performance, but also an increase in the electrical efficiency of the PV module. Furthermore, the feasibility of the air-type PV/T-assisted heat pump can be confirmed, and this system is worth promoting and applying.