Performance Evaluation of an Air Source Heat Pump Coupled With a Building Integrated Photovoltaic/Thermal (BIPV/T) System

A theoretical investigation of a variable capacity air-to-air air source heat pump (VC-ASHP) coupled with a building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) system is presented in this paper. The BIPV/T system was integrated into the roof and the wall. Air was circulated behind the photovoltaic arrays to recover the thermal energy. The warm air recovered was supplied to the VC-ASHP. The thermal performance of the VC-ASHP was investigated for three scenarios when the heat pump is running in heating mode. The three scenarios are: (A) by feeding the ambient air to the ASHP; (B) by coupling the ASHP to the wall integrated BIPV/T only; and (C) by coupling the ASHP to the roof integrated BIPV/T only. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the VC-ASHP was evaluated for these three separate scenarios and compared. A typical winter day result suggests that the COP of the ASHP can be improved by coupling the VC-ASHP to either of the BIPV/T systems, i.e., either to the roof integrated BIPV/T system or to the wall integrated BIPV/T system.