Best Practices for PV Heat Pump Design

An international team of researchers conducted an extensive review of models used to define best practices for designing and simulating pv heat pump (HP) systems in different configurations and identified key performance indicators for power generation and total life cycle cost.

“PV heat pumps are complex systems that require equally complex models for accurate simulation,” the scientists emphasized. “Most solar-powered HP systems have complex designs and operating principles to suit specific environments or structures. Therefore, their corresponding performance changes depending on the boundary conditions and characteristic parameters.

In particular, the research work investigates all modeling of pv-powered hp in different countries, the types of software used for system modeling and validation and their control strategies, as well as the details of best practice approaches and the economic and policy implications of replacing propane heating with heat pumps.

This paper also provides a series of tools for performing a techno-economic analysis of a PV heat pump. It describes the modeling and boundary conditions for each component of the system, as well as alternatives and motivations for not using them, depending on the system type.

The proposed methodology combines five different models across multiple computer programs into a single analytical tool that reportedly produces accurate key indicators for technical, economic and climate impact analysis.

“Microsoft Excel was used, but could have been processed in LibreOffice Calc,” the scholars note. The purpose of this review is not to highlight or recommend any particular model or tool, but rather to discuss several models for each component of the overall build model. As shown in previous reviews, there are several software tools that can perform simulations simultaneously, namely TRNSYS, Polysun, EnergyPlus, or IDA ICE.”

The scientists concluded that photovoltaic heat pumps already provide clear economic and environmental benefits, and that electrical and thermal energy storage could further enhance this. However, the main barrier to their adoption remains the high upfront costs.

According to the team, open-source simulation tools like SAM, EnergyPlus and OCHRE provide broad access to high-quality simulations to help consumers and policymakers make informed decisions.

“Second, to ensure that these future models are as accurate as possible, research funders and governments should encourage open data and sharing to simplify the validation of future models and provide a reliable and credible simulation environment,” they conclude. In addition, open hardware development of the various components of the system could further reduce capital costs and help accelerate the necessary scaling to allow the technology to reach its full potential.”

Their findings were published in a paper titled “Best Practices in Techno-Economic Methods for the Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic-Coupled Heat Pumps in Cold Climates” in the journal Energy and Buildings. The research team consisted of academics from Western Canada University and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.