Determination of Heat Transfer Characteristics of Solar Thermal Collectors as Heat Source for a Residential Heat Pump

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten G. Sourbron ◽  
Nesrin Ozalp

With reducing energy demand and required installed mechanical system power of modern residences, alternate heat pump system configurations with a possible increased economic viability emerge. Against this background, this paper presents a numerically examined energy feasibility study of a solar driven heat pump system for a low energy residence in a moderate climate, where a covered flat plate solar collector served as the sole low temperature heat source. A parametric study on the ambient-to-solarfluid heat transfer coefficient was conducted to determine the required solar collector heat transfer characteristics in this system setup. Moreover, solar collector area and storage tank volume were varied to investigate their impact on the system performance. A new performance indicator “availability” was defined to assess the contribution of the solar collector as low temperature energy source of the heat pump. Results showed that the use of a solar collector as low temperature heat source was feasible if its heat transfer rate (UA-value) was 200 W/K or higher. Achieving this value with a realistic solar collector area (A-value) required an increase of the overall ambient-to-solarfluid heat transfer coefficient (U-value) with a factor 6–8 compared to the base case with heat exchange between covered solar collector and ambient.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten G. Sourbron ◽  
Nesrin Ozalp

One of the best ways of making efficient use of energy in residential units is to use heat pump. Heat pump performance can be further enhanced by integrating a solar thermal unit to provide hot water and subsidize space heating. This paper presents numerically examined energy feasibility study of a solar driven heat pump system for a low energy residence, where a flat plate solar collector served as the sole low temperature heat source. A parametric study on the ambient-to-solar fluid heat transfer coefficient has been conducted to determine the required solar collector heat transfer characteristics in this system. Solar collector area and storage tank volume were varied to investigate their impact on the system performance. A new performance indicator availability was defined to assess the contribution of the solar collector as low temperature energy source of the heat pump. Results showed that the use of a solar collector as low temperature heat source was feasible if its heat transfer rate (UA-value) was 200 W/K or higher. Achievement of this value with a realistic solar collector area (A-value) required an increase of the overall ambient-to-solar fluid heat transfer coefficient (U-value) with a factor of 6 to 8 compared to the base case with only natural convection heat exchange between solar collector cover and ambient.



Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Neuberger ◽  
Radomír Adamovský

The efficiency of a heat pump energy system is significantly influenced by its low-temperature heat source. This paper presents the results of operational monitoring, analysis and comparison of heat transfer fluid temperatures, outputs and extracted energies at the most widely used low temperature heat sources within 218 days of a heating period. The monitoring involved horizontal ground heat exchangers (HGHEs) of linear and Slinky type, vertical ground heat exchangers (VGHEs) with single and double U-tube exchanger as well as the ambient air. The results of the verification indicated that it was not possible to specify clearly the most advantageous low-temperature heat source that meets the requirements of the efficiency of the heat pump operation. The highest average heat transfer fluid temperatures were achieved at linear HGHE (8.13 ± 4.50 °C) and double U-tube VGHE (8.13 ± 3.12 °C). The highest average specific heat output 59.97 ± 41.80 W/m2 and specific energy extracted from the ground mass 2723.40 ± 1785.58 kJ/m2·day were recorded at single U-tube VGHE. The lowest thermal resistance value of 0.07 K·m2/W, specifying the efficiency of the heat transfer process between the ground mass and the heat transfer fluid, was monitored at linear HGHE. The use of ambient air as a low-temperature heat pump source was considered to be the least advantageous in terms of its temperature parameters.







2021 ◽  
Vol 2108 (1) ◽  
pp. 012089
Author(s):  
Yun Zhang ◽  
Cichong Liu ◽  
Wanyong Li ◽  
Junye Shi ◽  
Jiangping Chen

Abstract This paper mainly studies the replacement performance of R290 in R22 low temperature heat pump system from the experimental point of view. By comparing the performance differences under different working conditions, it is found that when R22 is directly extracted from the original system and filled with R290, the heat capacity and COP of the system are attenuated, and the compressor discharge temperature and pressure of the R290 system are higher than those of the original R22 system in low temperature environment. Through the analysis of the system components, it can be considered that the main reason for the above phenomenon is that the compressor displacement of the R22 system is too large and does not match the R290 system. Therefore, in order to meet the safety requirements of the system and improve the overall performance of R290 in the low temperature heat pump system at the same time, it is considered to replace the compressor with a smaller displacement which is more matched with R290 in the system. The experimental results show that the compressor displacement optimization of the R290 low temperature heat pump system can effectively reduce the exhaust temperature and pressure of the system and improve the overall performance of the system. The COP of the optimized R290 low temperature heat pump system is 6.5% higher than that of the original R22 system, and the exhaust temperature in the low temperature environment is reduced by 36% to below 80 C.



PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256836
Author(s):  
Bo Yu ◽  
Yuye Luo ◽  
Wenxiao Chu

The study is aimed at the frosting problem of the air source heat pump in the low temperature and high humidity environment, which reduces the service life of the system. First, the frosting characteristics at the evaporator side of the air source heat pump system are analyzed. Then, a new defrost technology is proposed, and dimensional theory and neural network are combined to predict the transfer performance of the new system. Finally, an adaptive network control algorithm is proposed to predict the frosting amount. This algorithm optimizes the traditional neural network algorithm control process, and it is more flexible, objective, and reliable in the selection of the hidden layer, the acquisition of the optimal function, and the selection of the corresponding learning rate. Through model performance, regression analysis, and heat transfer characteristics simulation, the effectiveness of this method is further confirmed. It is found that, the new air source heat pump defrost system can provide auxiliary heat, effectively regulating the temperature and humidity. The mean square error is 0.019827, and the heat pump can operate efficiently under frosting conditions. The defrost system is easy to operate, and facilitates manufactures designing for different regions under different conditions. This research provides reference for energy conservation, emission reduction, and sustainable economic development.



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