Performance characteristics of integral type solar-assisted heat pump

The characteristic of an integral type solar-assisted heat pump water heater (ISAHP) is investigated in the present study. The ISAHP consists of a Rankine refrigeration cycle and a thermosyphon loop that are integrated together to form a package heater. Both solar and ambient air energies are absorbed at the collector/ evaporator and pumped to the storage tank via a Rankine refrigeration cycle and a thermosyphon heat exchanger. The condenser releases condensing heat of the refrigerant to the water side of the thermosyphon heat exchanger for producing a natural-circulation flow in the thermosyphon loop. A 105-liter ISAHP using a bare collector and a small R134a reciprocating-type compressor with rated input power 250 W was built and tested in the present study. The ISAHP was designed to operate at an evaporating temperature lower than the ambient temperature and a matched condition (near saturated vapor compression cycle and compressor exhaust temperature < 100 degreesC). A performance model is derived and found to be able to fit the experimental data very well for the ISAHP. The COP for the ISAHP built in the present study lies in the range 2.5-3.7 at water temperature between 61 and 25 degreesC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.