Performance Evaluation of an Air Source Heat Pump Coupled with a Building-Integrated Photovoltaic/Thermal (BIPV/T) System under Cold Climatic Conditions

A theoretical investigation of the performance of a two stage variable capacity air source heat pump (TS VC ASHP) coupled with a building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) system (integrated into the wall) is presented in this paper. Air was circulated behind the photovoltaic arrays to recover the thermal energy. TRNSYS was used to evaluate the performance of the TS VC ASHP coupled with the BIPV/T. The thermal performance of the TS VC ASHP was evaluated for two scenarios when the TS VC ASHP was running in heating mode. The two scenarios are: (A) directly feeding ambient air to the TS VC ASHP, and (B) coupling the TS VC ASHP to a wall integrated BIPV/T. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the TS VC ASHP was evaluated and compared for these two separate scenarios. Results suggest that the COP of the TS VC ASHP can be improved for the months of February through April by coupling the TS VC ASHP to a wall integrated BIPV/T system.