Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Research on the Performance of Solar Space Heating Systems Using Photovoltaic-Thermal Collectors

Applied Solar Energy volume 59, pages 48–63 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors convert solar energy into both heat and electricity. The paper is to investigate the performance of solar space heating systems using PVT collectors during heating season in cold regions. In this paper, the feasibility of simulating PVT collectors with the Type50a module in TRNSYS is verified by experiment and simulation. The performance of solar space heating systems using PVT collectors with low emissivity (low-e) coating (named as low-e PVT collector) and ordinary PVT collectors on the roof of a six-story office building in Beijing were simulated by TRNSYS. The results showed that the thermal efficiency and electrical efficiency of the low-e PVT collectors were 44.77 and 11.39% respectively, while the thermal efficiency of ordinary PVT collectors in winter is very low, about 16%, so the heating system should use low-e PVT collectors. When light radiant floor heating was used in cold regions, the daily average temperature of typical room in winter was 15°C. Compared with heavy radiant floor heating, light radiant floor heating had higher outlet temperature of PVT collector and shorter delay time of floor heating. Furthermore, “Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings” (EEB) has been compared with the “Technical Standard for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings” (nZEB-2019), and the solar fraction factor of EEB-2015 and nZEB-2019 are 73.29 and 80.69% respectively. The building envelope according to nZEB-2019 can obtain higher room and floor temperatures. The thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency and equivalent power generation efficiency of the PVT heating system gradually decrease as the set temperature difference increases, with the thermal efficiency being the most affected. In simulation calculations, as the start-up temperature difference between the outlet temperature of the PVT collector and the room temperature above the room of the PVT heating system increases from 5 to 15°C, the thermal efficiency of the system decreases by 16.21% and the equivalent electrical efficiency decreases by 6.17%.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 11.
Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.
Fig. 14.

REFERENCES

  1. China Energy Development Report 2018, China Electric Power, 2018, no. 10, p. 2 [in Chinese].

  2. Chow, T.T., A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology, Appl. Energy, 2010, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 365–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Yang, T. and Athienitis, A.K., A review of research and developments of building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) systems, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 2016, vol. 66, pp. 886–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Allouhi, A., Rehman, S., Buker, M.S., and Said, Z., Recent technical approaches for improving energy efficiency and sustainability of PV and PV-T systems: A comprehensive review, Sustainable Energy Technol. Assess., 2023, vol. 56, p. 103026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Al-Waeli, A.H.A., Sopian, K., Kazem, H.A., and Chaichan, M.T., Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) systems: Status and future prospects, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 2017, vol. 77, pp. 109–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Nassar, Y.F. and Salem, A.A., The reliability of the photovoltaic utilization in southern cities of Libya, Desalination, 2007, vol. 209, no. 1, pp. 86–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Diwania, S., Agrawal, S., Siddiqui, A.S., and Singh, S., Photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) technology: a comprehensive review on applications and its advancement, Int. J. Energy Environ. Eng., 2020, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 33–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Maghrabie, H.M., Elsaid, K., Sayed, E.T., Abdelkareem, M.A., Wilberforce, T., and Olabi, A.G., Building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) systems: Applications and challenges, Sustainable Energy Technol. Assess., 2021, vol. 45, p. 101151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Wolf, M., Performance analyses of combined heating and photovoltaic power systems for residences, Energy Convers., 1976, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 79–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Zondag, H.A., Flat-plate PV-Thermal collectors and systems: A review, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 2008, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 891–959.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Das, D., Kalita, P., and Roy, O., Flat plate hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) system: A review on design and development, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 2018, vol. 84, pp. 111–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Ghazy, M., Ibrahim, E.M.M., Mohamed, A.S.A., and Askalany, A.A., Cooling technologies for enhancing photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) performance: a state of the art, Int. J. Energy Environ. Eng., 2022, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1205–1235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Purwant, N.K. and Badadhe, A.M., Performance investigation of photovoltaic-thermal (pvt) solar collector using effective cooling techniques: Review, in Techno-Societal 2020, Cham: Springer, 2021, pp. 165–172.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Strebkov, D.S. and Filippchenkova, N.S., Results of an experimental study of a solar photovoltaic-thermal module, Appl. Sol. Energy, 2020, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 442–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Nassar, Y.F., Alsadi, S., Ali, K., Yousef, A.H., and Massoud, A.F., Numerical analysis and optimization of area contribution of the PV cells in the PV/T flat-plate solar air heating collector, 2019.

  16. Asad, A. N., Ahmed, A., and Nadeem, T.B., Efficiency improvement of photovoltaic module by air cooling, Appl. Sol. Energy, 2021, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 517–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Al-Waeli, A.H.A., Sopian, K., Kazem, H.A., and Chaichan, M.T., Design configuration and operational parameters of bi-fluid PVT collectors: An updated review, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 2023.

  18. Bloem, J.J., Evaluation of a PV-integrated building application in a well-controlled outdoor test environment, Build. Environ., 2008, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 205–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hu, Z., et al., Comparative study on the annual performance of three types of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) Trombe wall system, Appl. Energy, 2017, vol. 194, pp. 81–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Koyunbaba, B.K., Yilmaz, Z., and Ulgen, K., An approach for energy modeling of a building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) Trombe wall system, Energy Build., 2013, vol. 67, pp. 680–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Li, M., et al., Numerical and experimental investigation of precast concrete facade integrated with solar photovoltaic panels, Appl. Energy, 2019, vol. 253, p. 113509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Hailu, G., Dash, P., and Fung, A.S., Performance evaluation of an air source heat pump coupled with a building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) system under cold climatic conditions, Energy Procedia, 2015, vol. 78, pp. 1913–1918.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Martin-Escudero, K., et al., Solar energy system for heating and domestic hot water supply by means of a heat pump coupled to a photovoltaic ventilated façade, Sol. Energy, 2019, vol. 183, pp. 453–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Zhang, J., et al., New progress and thinking on building integrated PVT heat pump technology, in Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (ISHVAC 2019), Singapore: Springer, 2020, pp. 1223–1231.

  25. Ali, H.M., Recent advancements in PV cooling and efficiency enhancement integrating phase change materials based systems—A comprehensive review, Sol. Energy, 2020, vol. 197, pp. 163–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Ma, T., Li, Z., and Zhao, J., Photovoltaic panel integrated with phase change materials (PV-PCM): Technology overview and materials selection, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 2019, vol. 116, p. 109406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Ma, T., Yang, H., Zhang, Y., Lu, L., and Wang, X., Using phase change materials in photovoltaic systems for thermal regulation and electrical efficiency improvement: A review and outlook, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 2015, vol. 43, pp. 1273–1284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Al-Musawi, A.I.A., et al., Numerical study of the effects of nanofluids and phase-change materials in photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems, J. Therm. Anal. Calorim., 2019, vol. 137, no. 2, pp. 623–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Ji, J., et al., Experimental study on a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar system, Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica, 2005, no. 2, pp. 170–173 [in Chinese].

  30. He, W., et al., Hybrid photovoltaic and thermal solar-collector designed for natural circulation of water, Appl. Energy, 2006, vol. 83, no. 3, pp. 199–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Fudholi, A., Sopian, K., Yazdi, M.H., Ruslan, M.H., Ibrahim, A., and Kazem, H.A., Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors, Energy Convers. Manage., 2014, vol. 78, pp. 641–651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Liang, R., Zhang, J., Ma, L., and Li, Y., Performance evaluation of new type hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar collector by experimental study, Appl. Therm. Eng., 2015, vol. 75, pp. 487–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Qin, J., Cai, Y., and Huang, C., Seasonal energy analysis of solar PV/T collector applications in Shanghai, J. Build. Energy Efficiency, 2019, vol. 47, no. 7, pp. 12–15 [in Chinese].

    Google Scholar 

  34. Allouhi, A., Benzakour Amine, M., Buker, M. S., Kousksou, T., and Jamil, A., Forced-circulation solar water heating system using heat pipe-flat plate collectors: Energy and exergy analysis, Energy, 2019, vol. 180, pp. 429–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Guo, J., and Zheng, L., Numerically study on a new hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors with natural circulation, Appl. Sol. Energy, 2017, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 316–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Liang, R., Zhang, J., and Zhou, C., Dynamic simulation of a novel solar heating system based on hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors (PVT), Procedia Eng., 2015, vol. 121, pp. 675–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Li, N., Tian, X., Wang, J., and Xu, J., Operation performance of air-source heat pump assisted solar heating system in Beijing rural residence, 2017, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 136–140 [in Chinese].

  38. Li, Z., A numerical study on a heating system combining solar energy with air source heat pump in Lanzhou region and its performance analysis, M.S. Thesis, Gansu, China: Lanzhou University of Technology, 2017.

  39. Bai, X., Li, B., and Su, S., Application of solar air heating system in Tibet area, HVAC, 2018, vol. 48, no. 7, pp. 94–97 [in Chinese].

    Google Scholar 

  40. Ran, S., Li, X., Xu, W., and Wang, B., A solar-air hybrid source heat pump for space heating and domestic hot water, Sol. Energy, 2020, vol. 199, pp. 347–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Jiang, Y. and Yang, X., The use of equivalent electrical methods in energy analysis, Energy of China, 2010, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 5–11 [in Chinese].

    Google Scholar 

  42. GB50736-2005: Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings, Beijing, China: China Architecture and Building Press, 2005.

  43. Lämmle, M., Kroyer, T., Fortuin, S., Wiese, M., and Hermann, M., Development and modelling of highly-efficient PVT collectors with low-emissivity coatings, Sol. Energy, 2016, vol. 130, pp. 161–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. JGJ142-2012: Technical Specification for Radiant Heating and Cooling, Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 2012.

  45. GB50736-2015: Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings, Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 2015.

  46. GB/T51350-2019: Technical Standard for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings, Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 2019.

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research was supported by Thermal and environmental engineering department, Shanghai Marine Equipment Research Institute.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal and Environmental Engineering Department, Shanghai Marine Equipment Research Institute, Shanghai, China

    Xiang Zhou, Zhiqiang Sui & Xiaoqi Wang

Authors
  1. Xiang Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhiqiang Sui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiaoqi Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiang Zhou.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhou, X., Sui, Z. & Wang, X. Research on the Performance of Solar Space Heating Systems Using Photovoltaic-Thermal Collectors. Appl. Sol. Energy 59, 48–63 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0003701X22601041

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0003701X22601041

Keywords:

search

Navigation