Multicriteria performance investigations of a hybrid ground source heat pump system integrated with concentrated photovoltaic thermal solar collectors

The objective of this work is to propose a hybrid ground source heat pump system integrated with solar energy and investigate its multicriteria performances. A compound parabolic concentrated-photovoltaic thermal solar collector to output electricity and heat is comprehensively integrated with a basic ground source heat pump system. The thermodynamic models of subsystems were established and validated by comparing the simulation results to those from existing studies. The renewable resources were levelized to fossil fuels based on their contributions. The multicriteria performance of the hybrid system was analyzed by using the annual operation conditions of a hotel building. The results indicated that the primary energy ratio and exergy efficiency of the hybrid system are always higher than those of the conventional ground source heat pump system. Various inlet temperatures of solar and thermal tank subsystems in the proposed system was compared and analyzed in terms of the sustainability index, primary energy saving ratio, carbon dioxide emission reduction ratio, and annual cost saving ratio and the results indicated that their appropriate temperatures are 25 degrees C and 60 degrees C, respectively. A sensitivity analysis showed that except for the interest rate, the unit cost of electricity, service life, and maintenance coefficient have positive influences on the economic performance.