Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

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Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Characterization of a solar photovoltaic/loop-heat-pipe heat pump water

heating system
Xingxing Zhang a, Xudong Zhao a,, Jihuan Xu b, Xiaotong Yu c
a

Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, UK

Shanghai Pacic Energy Centre, Shanghai, China
c
Shanghai Solar Energy Research Centre, Shanghai, China
b

h i g h l i g h t s
" Describing concept and operating principle of the PV/LHP heat pump water heating system.
" Developing a numerical model to evaluate the performance of the system.
" Experimental testing of the prototype system.
" Characterizing the system performance using parallel comparison between the modelling and experimental results.
" Investigating the impact of the operating conditions to the systems performance.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 28 March 2012
Received in revised form 11 June 2012
Accepted 17 June 2012
Available online 24 July 2012
Keywords:
PV
Loop heat pipe
Heat pump
Efciency
Solar
Energy Performance

a b s t r a c t
This paper introduced the concept, potential application and benets relating to a novel solar photovoltaic/loop-heat-pipe (PV/LHP) heat pump system for hot water generation. On this basis, the paper
reported the process and results of characterizing the performance of such a system, which was undertaken through dedicated thermo-uid and energy balance analyses, computer model development and
operation, and experimental verication and modication. The fundamental heat transfer, uid ow
and photovoltaic governing equations were applied to characterize the energy conversion and transfer
processes occurring in each part and whole system layout; while the energy balance approach was utilized to enable inter-connection and resolution of the grouped equations. As a result, a dedicated computer model was developed and used to calculate the operational parameters, optimise the
geometrical congurations and sizes, and recommend the appropriate operational condition relating to
the system. Further, an experimental rig was constructed and utilized to acquire the relevant measurement data that thus enabled the parallel comparison between the simulation and experiment. It is concluded that the testing and modelling results are in good agreement, indicating that the model has the
reasonable accuracy in predicting the systems performance. Under the given experimental conditions,
the electrical, thermal and overall efciency of the PV/LHP module were around 10%, 40% and 50% respectively; whilst the systems overall performance coefcient (COPPV/T) was 8.7. Impact of the operational
parameters (i.e. solar radiation, air temperature, air velocity, heat-pumps evaporation temperature, glazing covers, and number of the absorbing heat pipes) to the performance of the system (in terms of efciencies of the PV/LHP module and the systems overall performance coefcient COPPV/T) was investigated
individually. The results indicated that lower solar radiation, lower air temperature, higher air velocity
and smaller cover number led to enhanced electrical efciency but reduced thermal efciency of the
module; whereas lower heat-pumps evaporation temperature and larger number of heat absorbing pipes
gave rise to both thermal and electrical efciencies of the module. The research results would assist in
developing a high efcient solar (space or hot water) heating system and thus contribute to realisation
of the energy saving and associated carbon emission targets set for buildings globally.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 116 257 7971; fax: +44 116 257 7981.
E-mail address: xzhao@dmu.ac.uk (X. Zhao).
0306-2619/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.06.039

The PV technologies are currently positioned at the forefront of

the global measures leading to sustainability and low carbon

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Nomenclature
Am
Ac,r
Ahx,r
Cp,lr
D
F
Fth
g
hc
hfg
hr
hr,l
hR
H
I
K
L
m
mr
mw
n
N
Nu
p
q
Q
Pr
r
R
R0
Ra
t
U
V
W

effective module area (m2)

cross area of refrigerant ow (m2)
cross area of refrigerant in heat exchanger (m2)
specic heat capacity of liquid refrigerant (J/kg K)
diameter (m)
standard n efciency
thermal efciency factor
gravity acceleration (m/s2)
convective heat transfer coefcient (W/m K)
latent heat of vaporization (J/kg)
refrigerant heat transfer coefcient (W/m K)
heat transfer coefcient of liquid refrigerant (W/m K)
radiative heat transfer coefcient (W/m K)
thermal enthalpies (J/kg)
solar radiation intensity (W/m2)
thermal conductivity (W/m2 K)
length (m)
n variable
mass ow rate of refrigerant (kg/s m2)
mass ow rate of water (kg/s)
mesh number
number
Nusselt number
pressure (pa)
energy rate per unit area (W/m2)
energy rate (W)
Prandtl number
thermal resistance per square meter (m2 K/W)
thermal resistance (K/W)
universal gas constant (kJ/kmol K)
Rayleigh number
temperature (C)
overall heat coefcient (W/m K)
velocity (m/s)
width (m)

Greek

a
ar,l
bp
bpv
d

e
ewi
g

absorption ratio
refrigerant thermal diffusivity
PV packing factor
cell efciency temperature coefcient
thickness (m)
emissivity
porosity of the wick
efciency

economy, and present great potential of delivering around 5% of

global electricity demand by 2030 and 11% by 2050 [1]. To accelerate the process, increasing the PVs solar conversion efciency and
reducing its capital cost are regarded the top priority in PV technology innovation. It is recognised that the PVs efciency falls when
its cells temperature rises [24]. To control the temperature of
the cells, several PV/Thermal (PV/T) measures were given considerable trials; some of those were found to be able to effectively
remove the accumulated heat from the back surface of the PVs
and deliver the collected heat to buildings for energy supply
purpose, thus developing the effective methods in enhancing PVs
solar conversion ratio and making economic use of the PV systems.
Concept of the PV/T was initiated by Kern and Russell [5] in
1978. Sooner after this, Florschuetz [6] developed a mathematical
theory dedicated for the at-plate PV/T collector, which is actually
the extended HottelWhillier [7] model. In recent years, numerous

l
q
s
r

collector slop (deg)

dynamic viscosity (kg/m s)
density (kg/m3)
visual transmittance
StefanBoltzman constant

Subscripts
a
air
abs
absorption
b
backplane
c
cover
c,e
compressor electrical energy
c,t
condensation thermal energy
c1
internal cover sheet
c2
external cover sheet
e
electricity
ei
electrical insulation
e,n
net electricity
e,t
evaporation thermal energy
EVA
ethylenevinyl-acetate
f
three-way tting
g,pv
glass layer of PV limitation
hp
heat pipe
hp,e
heat pipe evaporator
hp,in
inner heat pipe
hp,o
outer heat pipe
hp,w
heat pipe wall
hp,w-r
heat pipe wall to refrigerant
hx
heat exchanger
m
mean
l
liquid
lf
liquid lm
L
loss
p
PV
p-n
PV to n sheet
r
refrigerant
rc
reference temperature
rm
mean refrigerant
s
solid; isentropic
th
thermal
tl
transporting line
o
overall
u
useful
v
vapour
wi
wick

researchers made efforts to develop PV/T technologies including

those by air [813], water [1418], refrigerant [1923], and heat
pipe [2426]. To give a brief, the electrical and thermal efciencies
of the PV/T modules at the peak loading condition are (1) 8% and
42% for air-based type [13]; (2) 9.1% and 41% for water-based type
[18]; (3) 12% and 50% for refrigerant-based type [22]; and (4) 9.4%
and 41.9% for heat-pipe-based type [26]. These gures have indicated the excellent effectiveness of the PV/T devices in increasing
solar energy yield. Meanwhile, use of these PV/T devices has also
discovered several inherent technical shortfalls. In terms of the
air based PV/T type, the major problem lies in its relatively poor
heat removal effectiveness owing to the relatively lower thermal
mass of the air. The water-based PV/T type has certain improvement in removing the PV heat but the degree of improvement is
very limited due to the gradually increasing water temperature
within the loop; it has also presented the problem of potential

X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

1231

Fig. 1. Schematics of (a) experiment rig of the heat pump assisted PV/LHP solar water heating system, and (b) heat pump thermodynamic cycle in TS chart.

freezing during winter operation. Although the refrigerant-based

PV/T system could achieve signicant increase in solar energy conversion, its practical feasibility faced several challenges e.g., difculty in remaining the required pressures (positive and negative),
high risk of the refrigerant leakage and the uneven refrigerant distribution across multiple coils installed in a large photovoltaic area
[27]. The heat-pipe-based PV/T type, under an adequate operating
temperature/pressure, could obtain a similar thermal efciency as
to the refrigerant-based system. This type of system may therefore
have potential of overcoming the difculties existing in above systems and become the next generation PV/T device. The advantages
of the heat pipe technology lie in: (1) efcient thermal transfer
capacity for a distance travel; (2) hermetically sealed vessel without risk of uid leakage; (3) homogeneous built-in capillary force
leading to an even heat distribution; (4) availability for use of
the anti-freezing liquid [28].
However, the heat-pipe-based PV/T system is still at the research stage and its practical use remains certain degree of uncertainty and challenge. For distant heat energy transportation under
building application, loop heat pipe is a feasible solution which

could transport solar heat from the outer faade/roof of the building to its inside. The LHP is a two-phase heat-transfer measure
with the working uid circulating in a loop, thus enabling remote,
passive heat transfer at enhanced capacity. The LHP has been
widely used in thermal control of satellites, spacecrafts, electronics
and cooling/heating systems [2934], while the use for solar energy collection and transportation is only the recent development.
The biggest problem facing the loop heat pipe is the dry-out potential of the water lm on the upper side wall of the heat pipe absorber, due to limited water uplift height caused by the insufcient
wick capillary force [28]. To overcome this difculty, a unique loop
heat pipe structure with the top positioned three-ways tube was
initiated. This structure, in combination with the PV layer, could
form a modular PV/thermal solar collector. Combined operation
of the modular PV/thermal and the heat pump will expect to overcome the dry-out problem remaining in conventional heat-pipebased PV/T congurations, thus leading to highly efcient and
low cost heat and electricity generation using solar energy. In line
with this initiative, a characteristic study of such a PV/LHP heat
pump system will be conducted theoretically and experimentally

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Fig. 2. Schematic of loop heat pipe operation.

Fig. 3. Schematic of (a) the PV/LHP collector and (b) conguration of PV lamination.

in this research; which will expect to identify the real behavior of

the system, suggest the favorite operational conditions and optimize the geometrical sizes of the system congurations. The research results will help wide deployment of the PV/thermal
technologies, and thus contribute to signicant fossil fuel energy
saving and cut of the associated carbon emission in building sector.

2. System descriptions
The proposed PV/LHP heat pump water heating system and
associated TS chart based thermodynamic cycle are shown sche-

matically in Fig. 1. This system, as shown in Fig. 1a, comprises a

modular PV/LHP solar collector, an electricity control/storage unit,
the vapour/liquid transportation lines, a at-plate heat exchanger
acting as the condenser of the heat pipe loop and the evaporator
of the heat pump cycle, a hot water tank, a compressor, a coil-type
condenser embedded into the water tank and an expansion valve.
The LHP absorber (Fig. 2), as the most important heat collecting device, is an externally nned and internally wicked heat pipe with
the three-way tube on the top. This pipe, under the condition that
the water streams are continuously evaporated from the heat pipe
wall due to absorption of solar radiation, could deliver evenly distributed water lm across the heat pipe wall from the upper side,

X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

1233

Fig. 4. Schematic of the solar energy conversion and transfer processes.

and keep constant wall wetting condition throughout its full surface, thus preventing the dry-out potential of the water across
the wall. The three-way tube, meanwhile, could also deliver the vapour upward to the at-plate exchanger (LHP condenser) through
the vapour transportation line. This will create a clear separation
between the liquid and vapour ows in the heat pipe.
In the PV/LHP module, a unique LHP absorber is tted underneath the PV layer, as shown in Fig. 3, in order to extract heat from
the PVs back and thus reduce the PV cells temperature and increase PVs electrical efciency. During operation, this part of heat
will be delivered to the at-plate heat exchanger through vapour
transportation line, within which heat transfer between the heat
pump refrigerant and heat pipe working uid will occur. This interaction between the heat pipe uid and heat pump refrigerant will
lead to condensation of the heat pipe working uid. The condensed
liquid will return to the LHP absorber via the liquid transportation
line, thus completing the heat pipe uid circulation.
In the heat pump cycle (compressorcondenserexpansionvalveevaporatorcompressor), the liquid refrigerant will be
vaporized in the heat exchanger, which, under the pressurization
by the compressor, will be subsequently converted into higher
pressure, supersaturated vapour, and thus transfer heat energy
into the tank water via the coil exchanger (condenser of the heat
pump cycle), thus leading to temperature rise of the tank water.
It should be addressed that the heat transfer process within the coil
exchanger will also lead to condensation of the high pressure,
supersaturated vapour, which, when passing through the expansion valve, will be downgraded to the low pressure liquid refrigerant. This refrigerant will undergo the evaporation process within
the at-plate heat exchanger (evaporator of the heat pump cycle),
thus completing the whole heat pump cycling. The thermodynamic
process of the refrigerant within the heat pump cycle is shown
schematically in Fig. 1b.
The distinct features of the PV/LHP heat pump system lie in (1)
temperature of the LHP working uid could be controlled to a lower level through adjustment of the evaporation pressure of the
refrigerant in the heat pump cycle; this will lead to the reduced
PV cells temperature, increased PV electrical and thermal efciencies, and increased solar output per unit of absorbing surface; (2)
refrigerant temperature/pressure will be increased to a required level by using a compressor to enable heat to be transferred from the
refrigerant to the hot water; (3) power needed for compressor
operation can be provided by the PV generated electricity if the
system is appropriately designed, thus creating a near-to-zero-car-

bon heating operation. It can be predicted that more or less electricity surplus or deciency may occur, which could be matched
through a battery storage or grid.
This system may be installed on a building where the PV/LHP
modules could be mounted onto its faade or roof. For this application, the heat exchanger could be positioned at the upper side of
the modules, while the heat pump is installed at inside of the
building. Alternatively, the system can be separately installed as
an independent heat and power generation unit.
3. Mathematical model of the solar energy conversion and
transfer
Zondag et al. [35] indicated that the simple 1D steady-state
model is effective in simulating the performance of a combi-panel
and uses much less computing time than the 2D and 3D models.
For this regard, the 1D matrix was considered in this study.
In a PV/LHP module based heat pump system, the solar energy
conversion and transfer involves four processes (Fig. 4), namely: (i)

Fig. 5. Thermal network of heat loss for a typical double cover module.

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Fig. 6. Temperature drops and equivalent thermal resistances along the heat transfer path.

absorbing the certain percentage of striking solar radiation while

remaining being dissipated into the surrounding air, (ii) converting
part of the absorbed energy into electricity via the PV cells, (iii)
transporting the other part of the absorbed energy into the passing
refrigerant via the loop heat pipe, and (iv) upgrading the refrigerant-received heat into higher grade energy using a heat pump.
These processes are inter-linked and nally can achieve a balance
under the steady state operation. To simplify the energy model,
the following hypotheses are made:
a. The system operates under the quasi-steady state condition.
b. The ohm-electrical losses within the solar cells and PV module are ignored.
c. The transmittance of EVA (ethylenevinyl-acetate) layers is
considered to be 100%.
d. Heat losses across the module insulation layers (back and
edge) are negligible.
e. Heat losses through the heat pipe transportation lines are
ignored.
3.1. Absorbing certain percentage of striking solar radiation while
remaining being dissipated into the surroundings
When the solar radiation passes across the top covers and
strikes on the surface of the PV/LHP module, small percentage of
the radiation energy will be dissipated into the surroundings owing to the directional/diffusive reection and conductive/convective heat transfer occurring; while the remaining radiation
energy will be converted into electricity and heat using the PV/
LHP settings. Under a steady-state operating condition, the useful
energy obtained by the module is equal to the energy reaching
the PV surface minus the associated direct or indirect heat losses,
which refers to the heat dissipation from the module surface to
the surrounding air through conduction, convection and infrared
radiation.
The solar energy received by the PV absorber is a function of the
solar radiation striking on the panel, the transmittance of glazing
cover and the absorptance of the PV surfaces, and can be expressed
as [36,37]

Q abs sNc c sg;pv ap bp ab 1  bp Am I

Owing to temperature difference between the PV surface and

surrounding air, certain amount of the PV receiving energy will
be transferred into the surrounding air through the top cover;
while the back and edge heat transfers could be ignored as super
insulation at those directions is provided. Under the steady-state
condition, the heat loss from a double-glazed module will experience (1) heat transfer from the PV absorber surface to the inner
glazing cover; (2) heat transfer from the inner cover to outer cover;
and (3) heat transfer from the outer glazing cover to the surrounding air [36,37]. As shown in Fig. 5, the three heat transfers will be
laid in series and achieve the balance. Therefore, the total heat loss
could be expressed as [37]

Q L U L Am t p  t a

where the UL is the overall heat transfer coefcient and could be

written [37]

UL

1
1
1

hc;pc2 hR;pc2 hc;c2c1 hR;c2c1 hc;c1a hR;c1a

1
3

3.1.1. Heat transfer from the PV absorber surface to the inner glazing
cover
In this case, a relatively steady convective air layer is in existence between the PV absorber surface and the inner glazing cover,
its associated convective heat transfer coefcient, hc,pc2, can be expressed as [37]

hc;pc2

(
#

 "
K a;p
1708
1708 sin1:8h1:6

1 1:446 1 
1
Raa;p cos h
da;p
Raa;p cos h
"
# )
0:333
Raa;p cos h

1
4
5830

Raa;p

gt p  t c2 d3a;p
Pra;p
m2a;p ta;m

ta;m t p tc2 =2

5
6

X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

1235

Fig. 7. An elemental length dx showing heat ow pattern at the n sheet.

Converting the radiation transfer into the equivalent convective

one, a radiation-relevant factor, hr,pc2, is termed and expressed as [37]

hr;pc2

rtp tc2 t2p t2c2

1=ep 1=ec2  1

Raa;c




K a;c
1708
1 1:446 1 
Raa;c cos h
da;c
"
# "
# )
0:333
1708 sin1:8h1:6
Raa;c cos h

8
1
 1
5830
Raa;c cos h

gtc2  t c1 d3a;c
Pra;c
m2a;c tc;m

t c;m t c1 tc2 =2
hr;c2c1

rtc1 tc2 t2c1 t2c2

1=ec1 1=ec2  1

9
10
11

8:6V

0:6

L0:4

12

It should be addressed that the minimum convective coefcient

for wind-exposed surface is considered to be 5 W/m2 K [38]; if the
above calculation gives a lower value, this should be replaced by
the minimum value of 5.
Since the sky temperature has little impact to the calculation result, it is usually represented by the air temperature, thus [37]

hr;c1a ec1 rtc1 t a t2c1 t 2a

13

For the modules with single glazing or with no glazing top cover, the items addressed in 3.1.2 or 3.1.1 and 3.12 should be removed, while the heat transfer from inner glass to outer glass
will not be counted. In this case, only heat loss between the module surface and ambient air is considered.

14

The overall electricity output is therefore given as

Q e gc bp ap sNc c sg;pv IAm

15

The modules solar electrical efciency could be calculated by

using the following equation

ge

Qe
IAm

16

3.3. Transporting the remaining absorbed energy into evaporation

heat of the refrigerant
Under the steady-state condition, the rate of useful heat delivered by module equals to the rate of the absorbed energy minus
the overall heat loss and converted electricity, which could be expressed as

Q th Q abs  Q L  Q e

3.1.3. Heat transfer from the outer surface of the cover to the
surrounding air
For a surface exposed to the outside wind, its convective coefcient could be calculated using the Klein equation [38], as below

hc;c1a

The PV cells electrical efciency is adversely proportional to its

surface temperature and this dependency can be written as

gc grc 1  bPV tp  trc 

3.1.2. Heat transfer from the inner glazing cover to the outer cover
By carrying out a similar analysis, the heat transfer from the inner glass at tc2 to the outer glass at tc1 could be expressed as:

hc;c2c1

3.2. Converting part of the absorbed energy into electricity

17

This part of heat will eventually be converted into the heat received by the refrigerant, which is denoted by Qu. In that case, the
modules thermal efciency can be dened as

gth

Q th
Q
u
Am I Am I

18

The modules overall solar efciency, go, would be the sum of

both electrical and thermal efciencies, dened as

go ge gth

19

At the heat pipes evaporation section (heat absorbing pipes),

part of the solar energy is converted into the heat pipe received
heat (Qth), which leads to evaporation of the heat pipe working
uid. This vapour uid, via the vapour transportation line, moves
forward to the condensing heat exchanger where the evaporated
uid is condensed and transfers the condensation heat into the
adjacent refrigerant ow, thus leading to evaporation of the refrigerant at the next channel of the heat exchanger. The condensed
uid in the heat pipe, via the liquid transportation line, then ows
back the heat pipe evaporation section to regain heat, thus forming

1236

X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

the complete heat transportation cycle, as depicted in Fig. 6. This

process involves a number of thermal resistances that result in
changing in the working uid temperature, which is detailed as follow. It should be addressed that the resistances of the silicon sealant and liquidvapour interface at wicked surface are ignored
owing to their signicantly smaller values compared to others [29].
3.3.1. Thermal resistances between the PV cells and heat pipe ns
The heat transfer between the PV absorber and heat pipe ns is
the one-dimensional multi-layer heat conduction process and its
associated thermal resistance could be written as [39]

r p-fin r p r EVA r ei

dp dEVA dei

K p K EVA K ei

20

nishing at n base [x = (W/Nhp  Dhp,o)/2]. Fig. 7 indicates the heat

ow simulation process using the nite element approach which
takes dx as the step length of the numerical calculation.
For a controlled nite element per unit width, the following energy conversation equation can be applied [37]







qabs  U L t  t a  qe
dt
dt
dx K e de
 K e de
dx x
dx xdx
1 rp-fin U L
0

21

Along the heat pipe evaporation section, no temperature gradient would be in existence along its length direction, owing to the
even heat input. By applying the HottelWhillier model [7,36],
the overall useful solar heat conducted from the n to heat pipe
could be expressed as

Q u LWF th qabs  U L t r;m  ta  qe 

3.3.2. Thermal resistance across the n length
The heat received by the n is conducted to the heat pipe wall
along its width direction, by leading the heat ow to travel across
the cross sectional area of the n. This is considered a one-dimensional heat transfer process starting from the n end (x = 0) and

F th
LW
N hp

8
<
:LUL

1=U L
h

1
Dhp;o

W=N hp Dhp;o F1r

Fig. 8. Flow chart of computation process.

p-fin U L

9
=
6
X
i
Ri
;
i1

22
23

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Table 1
Photovoltaic characteristics of the PV module under standard testing conditions.
At short-circuit current
At open-circuit voltage
At the maximum power point

ISC = 5.54 A, VSC = 0 V

IOC = 0 A, VOC = 22.32 V
Imp = 4.89 A, Vmp = 18.23 V (Pmp = 89.1 W, go = 16.8%)

Table 2
Design parameters of the LHP operation and heat exchanger.
Parameters

Nomenclature

Value

Unit

External diameter of evaporator

Internal diameter of evaporator
Internal diameter of vapour column (three-way tting)
Thermal conductivity of evaporator wall
Operating pressure in heat pipe
Evaporator length
Evaporator-to-condenser height difference
Liquid lling level
Transportation line outer diameter
Transportation line inner diameter
Transportation line length
Wire diameter (wick layer I)
Layer thickness (wick layer I)
Mesh number (wick layer I)
Wire diameter (wick layer II)
Layer thickness (wick layer II)
Mesh number (wick layer II)
Wick conductivity
Heat exchanger plate thickness
Heat exchanger plate height
Heat exchanger plate cluster width
Heat exchanger plate cluster length
Heat exchanger plate conductivity
Heat exchanger number of plate

Dhp,o
Dhp,in
Dvt
Khp
Php
Lhp,e
Hhx-hp
mf
Dltl,o/Dvtl,o
Dltl,in/Dvtl,in
Lltl/Lvtl
Dowi,ms
dowi,ms
nowi,ms
Diwi,ms
diwi,ms
niwi,ms
Ks,ms
dhx
Hhx
Whx
Lhx
Khx
nhx

0.022
0.0196
0.014
394
1.3  104
1.2
0.3
75
0.022
0.0196
1.0/0.9
7.175  105
3.75  104
6299
12.23  105
3.75  104
2362
394
0.00235
0.206
0.076
0.055
16.28
20

m
m
m
W/m K
Pa
m
m
ml
m
m
m
m
m
m1
m
m
m1
W/m K
m
m
m
m
W/m K

The standard n efciency, F, is dened as

tanhmW=N hp  Dhp;o =2

F
mW=Nhp  Dhp;o =2

R2

K wi

K l K l K s  1  ewi K l  K s 
K l K s 1  ewi K l  K s 

25

ewi 1 

In terms of the physical implication, Fth represents the ratio of

the systems actual useful heat gain to the overall converted solar
heat at a certain working uid temperature. The systems thermal
efciency factor is a constant gure under the xed physical and
operating condition. However, this factors value varies in the follow ways: it decreases with increasing the n width (less absorbing pipe), increases with increasing material thicknesses and
thermal conductivities, decreases with increasing the overall heat
loss coefcient, and increases with decreasing the overall system
heat transfer resistance.
3.3.3. Thermal resistances from absorbing heat pipe wall to heat pipe
working uid
3.3.3.1. Heat pipe wall, R1. Heat transfer through the heat pipe wall
is a typical steady-state conduction process, and its thermal resistance can be written as [39]

lnDhp;o =Dhp;in
R1
2pLhp;e K hp

27

24

And, the variable, m, is expressed as [36]

s
UL
m
K f df 1 rp-fin U L

lnDhp;in =Dv ;e
2pLhp;e K wi

1:05pnwi Dwi
4

28

29

3.3.3.3. Thermal resistance of vapour ow, R3. The vapour ow process from the evaporation section to condensing heat exchanger
experiences certain pressure loss and consequently temperature
drop. This creates a resistance in heat transfer which could be written as [29]

t 2 R0 DPv Nhp
R3 v
Q u hfg Pv

30

DPv DPv ;e DPv ;f DP v ;tl DPv ;hx

31

(i) Pressure drop in the evaporator section

DPv ;e 

Qu
8qv Dv ;e =24 hfg Nhp

32

26

3.3.3.2. Thermal resistance of wick structure, R2. Inner surface of the

heat pipe wall is attached with the mesh wick which causes certain
resistance in heat transfer; this part of resistance can be written as
[39]

(ii) Pressure drop in the three-way tting

DPv ;f 

4lv Lf Q u
pqv Dv ;f =24 hfg Nhp

(iii) Pressure drop in the vapour transportation line

33

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Fig. 9. Indoor testing rigs: (a) PV/LHP module with single heat absorbing pipe; (b) PV/LHP module with double heat absorbing pipe; (c) aluminium-alloy based PV lamination
with no heat absorbing pipe (d) detachable glazing cover.

DPv ;tl 

4lv Ltl Q u
pqv Dv ;tl =24 hfg Nhp

34

(iv) Pressure drop in the condensation section

DPv ;c

Qu

p 8qv Dv ;hx =2 hfg Nhp

2

1
nhx =2  1

evaporated into vapour. This process involves the turbulent and

forced convection heat transfer, and its associated thermal resistance is [39]

R6
35

1
hr Ahx;r nhx =2
"
0:8

hr hr;l 1  xr
3.3.3.4. Thermal resistance of condensed liquid lm, R4. The condensed liquid lm will be evenly distributed on the surface of
the condensing heat exchanger (heat pipe uid side) and its associated ow resistance is [39]

R4

lnDhx;in =Dhx;in  2dlf 

2pLlf K lf nhx =2  1

36

3.3.3.5. Thermal resistance of heat exchanging plat, R5. The equivalent thermal resistance of heat exchanging plate is written as [39]

R5

lnDhx;o =Dhx;in
2pHhx =2K hx nhx =2  1

38

37

hr;l

Nur K r;l
Dhx;in

Pr0:38
r

#
39

40

The Nusselt number of the refrigerant ow could be expressed

by DittusBoelter equation, as below [39]
0:4
Nur 0:023Re0:8
r;l Prr;l

41

The Reynolds number of the refrigerant within the channel is

[39]

Rer;l
3.3.3.6. Thermal resistance of the heat pump refrigerant, R6. The
refrigerant within the heat pump cycle passes across the channels
of the condensing heat exchanger (refrigerant side) where it is

3:8x0:76
1  xr 0:04
r

mr 1  xr Dhx;in
lr;l nhx =2Nhp

42

The Prandtl number of refrigerant (Prr,l) is calculated by the following equation [39]

X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Prr;l

lr;l C p;lr

43

K r;l

3.4. Transferring the refrigerant received heat into tank water using a
heat pump
The heat received by the refrigerant causes its evaporation
within the condensing heat exchanger. This refrigerant vapour is
then upgraded through a compressor to a high temperature refrigerant vapour, which, at the condenser of the heat pump cycle, is
condensed and releases heat to the tank water, resulting temperature rise of the water and condensation of the refrigerant.
The heat received by the refrigerant is given as [40]

Q u Q e;t mr Acr H1  H4

44

COP PV=Texp

gs

46

The net electricity generation of the system is:

47

Thus, work-back ratio of system, dened as the ratio of net electricity output to the overall PV electricity generation, could be expressed as

ge;n

Q e;n
Qe

48

As such a PV/LHP system yields not only heat but also electricity, an overall coefcient indicating the thermal-and-electrical performance (COPPV/T) of the system is needed. This coefcient
converts the yielded electricity into the equivalent thermal energy
using the average electricity-generation efciency (commonly 38%
[18]) at a coal-red power plant.

COP PV=T

Q c;t Q e =0:38
Q c;e

51

The heat transfer processes will eventually achieve an energy

balance when the system operates at the steady state condition
and each part of the system will establish a certain temperature
when in operation. The algorithm used for modelling set-up is
shown schematically in Fig. 8 and illustrated as follow:

The power input of the heat pump at the ideal isentropic operating condition could be expressed as [40]

Q e;n Q e  Q c;e

Q c;e
H2s  H1

Q c;eexp
H2  H1

4. Algorithm applied for the computer programming

45

Q c;e mr Acr H2s  H1

50

Where the compressors isentropic efciency is given [40] as

The operation of the compressor is assumed at isentropic condition and the heat output of the heat pump could be expressed as
[40]
i
Q c;t mr Acr H2s  H3 mw C p;w ti1
w  tw

Q c;texp Q eexp =0:38

Q c;e =gs

1239

49

If taking the compressors isentropic efciency into account, the

systems overall performance coefcient would be an even lower
gure which could be re-dened as [40]

(i) Giving a pre-set external weather condition, system design

and operating parameters.
(ii) Assuming the refrigerant mass ow rate mr and the refrigerant evaporating heat gain, calculating Qe,t using Eq. (44).
(iii) Assuming the cell temperature tp, and taking up the following heat analyses:
A. Heat balance of the glazing cover could be analyzed by
Eqs. (2)(13), which results in determination of the heat
loss, QL;
B. Heat balance of the PV cells could be analyzed using
Eqs. (1), (14), (15), and (17), which results in determination of the converted solar electricity, Qe and heat,
Qth.
C. Heat transfer from the PV cells to the heat pump evaporator could be analysed using Eqs. (20)(43), which results
in determination of the useful heat gain, Qu.
D. If (Qth  Qu)/Qth > 0.5% (error allowance), then increasing
tp by 0.1 C and return to step (iii) for re-calculation.
E. If (Q th  Q u )/Q th < 0.5% (error allowance), then
decreasing tp by 0.1 C and return to step (iii) for recalculation.
F. If 0.5% 6 (Qth  Qu)/Qth 6 0.5%, the system is considered
to have achieved heat balance.
(iv) If (Qu  Qe,t)/Qu > 0.5% (error allowance), then increasing mr
by 0.001 kg/s and returning to step (ii) for re-calculation.
(v) If (Qu  Qe,t)/Qu < 0.5% (error allowance), then decreasing
m r by 0.001 kg/s and returning to step (iii) for recalculation.
(vi) If 0.5% 6 (Qu  Qe,t)/Qu 6 0.5%, the system is considered to
have achieved heat balance.

Table 3
List of experimental testing and monitoring devices.
Device

Specication

Quantity

Location/application

Solar simulator

Tungsten halogen lamps

(300W)
TQB-2 (Jinzhou Sunlight,
China)
EC-8SX (Jinzhou Sunlight,
China)
WB1919B35-S and
WBP112S91 (Weibo, China)
R025S116N (MicroMotion,
USA)
PT100 RTD probes, (China)

Above PV/LHP module

Module bracket

Near PV/LHP module

PV module output (DC), compressor input (AC)

Compressor outlet

10

PV backplane, LHP evaporator section, vapour line, heat exchanger inlet/outlet (heat pipe side),
liquid line, heat exchanger inlet/outlet (refrigerant side), water tank

Testo 605-H1 (Germany)

DT500 (DataTaker,
Australia)

1
1

Room temperature and humidity

Record data with computing unit

Pyranometer
Anemometer
Power sensor
Flow meter
Resistance
temperature
detector (RTD)
Thermometer
Data logger

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

Table 4
List of experimental testing modes.
Testing
mode

Solar radiation (W/

m2)

Air temperature (C)

Wind speed (m/

s)

Heat pump evaporation temperature

(C)

Cover sheet
number

Heat pipe
number

(1)

20 2

1 0.2

10

(2)

200 20, 300 20

400 20, 500 20
600 20
600 20

1 0.2

10

(3)

600 20

10 2,15 2, 20 2,
25 2,
20 2

10

(4)
(5)
(6)

600 20
600 20
600 20

20 2
20 2
20 2

1 0.2, 3 0.2
5 0.2, 7 0.2
1 0.2
1 0.2
1 0.2

5, 10, 15, 20
10
10

1
0, 1, 2
1

1
1
0, 1, 2

(vii) Calculating the modules energy efciencies, system workback ratio and the overall performance coefcient of COPPV/
T using Eqs. (16), (18), (19), (45)(50), (and) (51).
(viii) Finally determining tp and stopping the program.
5. Experimental testing
5.1. Experimental rig set up
A prototype PV/LHP heat pump system was constructed and
tested under the controlled indoor condition at Shanghai, China.
The PV/LHP module, with an effective absorbing area of
0.612 m2, was xed to the 30 tilted frame, and tted with the
detachable double/single glazing cover on top. The PV cells, consisting of totally 36 (4  9 array) pieces each with sizes of
125  125  0.3 (mm  mm  mm), occupied nearly 90% of the
absorbing surface. Table 1 presents the values of the characteristic

parameters relating to the PV cells under the standard testing conditions. During the PV module making-up, a black 5052 aluminium
alloy sheet coated with 20 lm anodic oxidation lm was used to
replace the conventional TPT base-board of the PV cells. A 5 mm
thick aluminium X-type n sheet, embracing a wicked pipe (with
160  60 copper meshes), was adhered to the PV base-board using
the silicon sealants. This pipe, when connecting to the liquid and
vapour transportation lines and condensing heat exchanger,
formed up a loop that was evacuated and then lled with 75 ml
of water/glycol mixture (95%/5%) as the working uid. The specications of the loop components including tube, ns, three-way tting, liquid/vapour transportation lines and condensing heat
exchanger are given in Table 2. Further, the system also employed
a 1 kW rating heat pump cycle with the evaporation/condensation
temperatures of 10 C/55 C, which was charged with 300 g of
R134a refrigerant. A 100 l of water tank with built-in cooper heat
exchanging coils was also installed and connected to the heat

COPPV/T

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.979; e=3.02%

9.43

COPPV/T

9.66
9.84

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.994; e=3.03%

9.20
8.74

9.02
8.28
8.61
42.9
(exp)
(sim)
r=0.982; e=4.43%

th (%)

th (%)

40.5
37.8

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.996; e=4.64%

39.0
35.1

35.1
31.2

32.4
(exp)
(sim)
r=0.984; e=2.04%

10.66
10.40

10.08

42.9

43.4

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.991; e=3.28%

tb (oC)

tb (oC)

10.36
10.22

10.14

39.0

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.976; e=1.96%

10.50

e (%)

e (%)

10.92

35.1

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.985; e=3.29%

42.0
40.6

31.2

39.2
200

300

400

Solar radiation

500

600

(w/m2)

Fig. 10. Temperature at PV backplane, module efciencies and COPPV/T as a function

of solar radiation.

10

15

20

25

Air temperature ( C)
Fig. 11. Temperature at PV backplane, module efciencies and COPPV/T as a function
of air temperature.

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

9.00

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.90; e=2.97%

11.2

COPPV/T

COPPV/T

9.18

8.82

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=2.95%

9.8
8.4

8.64
7.0
(exp)
(sim)
r=0.992; e=4.53%

39.1

43.0

th (%)

th (%)

40.8

37.4

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=5.07%

38.7
34.4

35.7
30.1
10.53

e (%)

e (%)

10.44
10.32
10.20

10.26

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.970; e=1.81%

10.08

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.979; e=1.56%

9.99
9.72

42.72

tb (oC)

tb (oC)

54

41.83
40.94
40.05

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.991; e=3.37%

42
36

Fig. 12. Temperature at PV backplane, module efciencies and COPPV/T as a function

of wind speed.

pump to obtain heat and store the heating water. The electrical
parts of the system include a 12 V (10 A) controller, 500 W DC/
AC inverter, a 100AH (12 V) battery, and the connection wires. Several insulation materials including the foamy polyurethane for piping and polystyrene board for exchangers were also applied to
minimise the heat loss of the system components. The image of
the indoor experimental rig is presented in Fig. 9; a list of the testing instruments and devices are presented in Table 3.
5.2. Experimental processing
To enable characterization of the PV/LHP heat pump system,
numerous sets of experiments, as shown in Table 4, were conducted over the duration from 8th November to 9th December
2011 under the controlled indoor conditions. Each of the tests
started at 9:00 am and run for sufcient hours to obtain the steady
state data. During the tests, the acquired data were recorded at the
10-s interval.
5.3. Statistical analysis
To analyse the difference between the theoretical and experimental results, the correlation coefcient (r) and a root mean
square percentage deviation (e) were brought into use and these
parameters are dened as

P
P
P
n X e X s  X e X s
q
r q
P
P
P
P
n X 2e  X e 2 n X 2s  X s 2

10

15

20

Evaporation temperature (oC)

Wind speed (m/s)

s
P
100  X e  X s =X e 2
e
n

48

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=4.81%

52

53

Fig. 13. Temperature at PV backplane, module efciencies and COPPV/T as a function

of heat pump evaporation temperature.

6. Results and discussion

Using both established computer model and testing rig, parametric studies of the PV/LHP heat pump system were conducted
under the pre-set operational conditions. This allows parallel comparison of the modelling and test results of the system, thus leading to verication or modication of the model accuracy in
performance prediction. Further, impact of the operational parameters (e.g., solar radiation, air temperature, air velocity, heatpumps evaporation temperature, glazing cover, and number of
heat absorbing pipes) to the system performance (e.g. efciencies
of the PV/LHP module and system COPPV/T) was investigated individually. Finally, a brief comparison of such a system against the
conventional solar/air energy systems was made. The results are
illustrated as follows.
6.1. Impact of solar radiation
Varying the solar radiation from 200 to 600 W/m2 while
remaining other parameters constant, i.e., air temperature at
20 C, wind speed at 1 m/s, heat pump evaporating temperature
at 10 C, single glazing cover and xed single heat absorbing pipe,
as indicated in Table 4 for mode 1 operation, simulation was carried out using the established computer programme. The simulation results were then compared with the testing results
obtained under the same operational condition, i.e., mode (1) addressed above, which yielded a comparing diagram of Fig. 10. Good
agreement between the modelling and experimental results was
observed with the correlation coefcient and root mean square
percentage deviation of 0.984 and 2.04% for the electrical efciency, and 0.982 and 4.43% for the thermal efciency. The minor

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

9.80
(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=1.76%

10.45
9.50

COPPV/T

COPPV/T

11.40

8.55

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=2.03%

9.45
9.10
8.75

45.6
45

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=2.37%

th (%)

th (%)

39.9
34.2

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=2.46%

30
15

28.5
0
12.32

e (%)

11.44
10.56

e (%)

10.81
(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=2.08%

9.68

9.87
9.40

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=1.55%

tb (oC)

tb (oC)

43.7

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.997; e=1.46%

10.34

41.4

46.0

39.1

36.8

36.8

27.6
0

Number of cover sheets

Fig. 14. Temperature at PV backplane, module efciencies and COPPV/T as a function
of cover sheets.

differences in existence may be caused by the simplied assumptions, utilization of empirical formulas, measurement errors, and
in particular, the compressors isentropic efciency (less than
88%), which caused slightly reduced practical performance coefcient over the theoretical gure. It is found that increasing the solar
radiation led to signicant increase in temperature of PV absorber
(from 31 C to 41.8 C) and in the modules thermal efciency
(from 32.4% to 39.6%), and slight decreases in the modules electrical efciency (from 10.8% to 10.1%) and in the systems overall performance coefcient (from 9.6 to 8.7). The phenomena could be
explained as follows: a higher solar radiation yielded an enhanced
solar heat transfer, which helped improve the solar heat gain and
the modules thermal efciency. Meanwhile, the heat gain was
accumulated on the PV modules owing to the established thermal
resistance of the LHP cycle; this led to increase in PV cells temperature and decrease in the modules solar electrical efciency. To remove this amount of heat, the heat pump would operate at higher
electrical power condition, thus leading to reduced system overall
performance coefcient.
6.2. Impact of surrounding air temperature
Varying the surrounding air temperature from 10 to 25 C while
remaining other parameters constant, as indicated in Table 4 for
mode 2 operation, simulation was carried out using the established
computer programme, and the results of the simulation were then
put into parallel comparison against the experimental data, thus
giving a comparing image as shown in Fig. 11. Good agreement
was found between these two sets of results, giving the correlation
coefcient and root mean square percentage deviation of 0.976 and

(exp)
(sim)
r=0.999; e=1.80%

55.2

Number of heat absorbing pipes

Fig. 15. Temperature at PV backplane and module efciencies as a function of heat
pipe numbers.

1.96% for the electrical efciency, and 0.996 and 4.64% for the thermal efciency. It is found that increasing the surrounding air temperature resulted in increase in PVs temperature (from 38.7 C to
42.3 C) and in associated thermal efciency (from 31.5% to
42.4%), and decrease in the modules electrical efciency (from
10.3% to 10.1%) and in systems overall performance coefcient
(from 9.3 to 8.3). The phenomena could be explained as follows:
the higher surrounding air temperature reduced the modules heat
loss and thus increased their useful heat gain, resulting in increase
in the systems thermal efciency. This, however, also led to increased PV temperature, resulting in reduced system electrical efciency and net electricity generation. Consequently, the systems
overall performance coefcient somehow fell.
6.3. Impact of air velocity
Varying the surrounding air velocity from 1 to 7 m/s while
remaining other parameters constant, as indicated in Table 4 for
mode 3 operation, simulation was carried out using the established
computer programme, and the results of the simulation were then
put into parallel comparison against the experimental data, giving
a comparing image as shown in Fig. 12. The correlation coefcient
and root mean square percentage deviation were found to be 0.970
and 1.81% for the electrical efciency and 0.992 and 4.53% for the
thermal efciency, indicating that good agreement between the
simulation and experiment has been achieved. It is found that
increasing the air velocity led to slight decrease in temperature
of PV absorber (from 41.8 C to 39.9 C) and in the modules thermal efciency (from 39.6% to 35.5%), and increase in the modules
electrical efciency (from 10.34% to 10.39%) and in the systems
overall performance coefcient (from 8.7 to 8.9). The phenomena

1243

X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

(a)

Thermal efficiency
Electrical efficiency

PV panels [41]

Thermal collector [42]

PV/LHP module (exp)

PV/LHP module (sim)

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

Average efficiency (%)

(b)

System COP
ASHP [43]

ISAHP [44]

PV/LHP-HP (exp)

PV/LHP-HP (sim)

System COP
Fig. 16. Comparison between the PV/LHP heat pump system and (a) independent PV panels, standard solar thermal collectors and (b) conventional air-source and solarassisted heat pump water heating systems.

could be explained as follows: the higher air velocity caused increased heat loss and reduced thermal efciency. It, however, also
lowered temperature of PV modules, leading to the increase in the
modules electrical efciency. Consequently, the systems overall
performance coefcient was higher.
6.4. Impact of the heat-pumps evaporation temperature
Varying the heat-pumps evaporation temperature from 5 to
20 C while remaining other parameters constant, as indicated in
Table 4 for mode 4 operation, simulation was carried out using
the established computer programme, and the results of the simulation were then put into parallel comparison against the experimental data, thus giving a comparing image as shown in Fig. 13.
The correlation coefcient and root mean square percentage deviation were found to be 0.979 and 1.56% for the electrical efciency
and 0.999 and 5.07% for the thermal efciency, indicating that a
good agreement has been achieved between the simulation and
experiment. It is found that increasing the evaporation temperature led to increase in temperature of PV absorber (from 38.9 C
to 52.1 C) and in the systems overall performance coefcient
(from 7.6 to 11.6), and decrease in the modules electrical efciency (from 10.4% to 9.7%) and in the modules thermal efciency

(from 43% to 30%). The phenomena could be explained as follows:

higher evaporation temperature reduced the temperature difference between the PV/LHP absorber and condensing heat exchanger, thus resulting in the reduced heat transfer across the LHP
and reduced modules thermal and electrical efciency. It, however, lowered the temperature difference between condensation
and evaporation processes, which led to reduced compressor
power in the heat pump operation. As a result, the systems overall
performance coefcient was higher.
6.5. Impact of the top glazing covers
Varying the layer of the top glazing covers from 0 to 2 while
remaining other parameters constant, as indicated in Table 4 for
mode 5 operation, simulation was carried out using the established
computer programme, and the results of the simulation were then
put into parallel comparison against the experimental data, thus
giving a comparing image as shown in Fig. 14.
It is found that increasing number of the glazing covers led to increase in the PV-absorber temperature and in the thermal efciency,
and decrease in the electrical efciency and in the systems overall
performance coefcient. This is because that adding more glazing
covers helped reduce the overall heat losses and the amount of ab-

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X. Zhang et al. / Applied Energy 102 (2013) 12291245

sorbed solar energy due to its reection and reduced transmittance;

as a result, the modules thermal efciency and the PV-absorber
temperature arose, and the modules electrical efciency and the
systems overall performance coefcient fell. To minimizing heat
loss and maximizing solar energy intake, the single glazing cover
was considered to be the most appropriate option.
6.6. Impact of heat absorbing pipe numbers
Varying the number of the heat absorbing pipes behind the PV
layer from 0 to 2 while remaining other parameters constant, as
indicated in Table 4 for mode 6 operation, simulation was carried
out using the established computer programme, and the results
of the simulation were then put into parallel comparison against
the experimental data, thus giving a comparing image as shown
in Fig. 15. It is found that increasing number of the heat absorbing
pipes led to increase in all indicative parameters of the system
including thermal and electrical efciencies, and COPPV/T. Applying
more heat absorbing pipes underneath the PV laminations increased the standard n efciency, which enabled reduced PV surface temperature, increased solar heat gain, and enhanced thermal
and electrical efciencies; and consequently, the overall performance of the system was enhanced.
6.7. Comparison between the PV/LHP heat pump system and
conventional PV panels, solar thermal collectors and solar/air heat
pump water heating systems
Given a xed operating condition, i.e. solar radiation of 600 W/
m2, air temperature of 20 C, wind speed of 1 m/s, heat pump evaporating temperature of 10 C, single glazing cover and single heat
absorbing pipe, simulations were carried out to enable comparative study of the performance of the above addressed systems, thus
giving the comparing image of Fig. 16. It is found that the electrical
and thermal efciency of the PV/LHP module were around 10% and
40% respectively, giving 50% of overall efciency which is much
higher than the average values for the PV panels (around 1012%
[41]) and solar thermal collectors (around 40% [42]). The overall
performance coefcient of the system was about 8.7, which was
nearly fourfold of the conventional air-source heat pump water
heating system (ASHP) [43], and twice of the integral-type solarassisted heat pump system (ISAHP) [44]. The work-back ratio of
the system was around 15%, which implied that 85% of the electricity generated by the PV was used for powering the heat pump
operation, while remaining could be utilized for other purposes
in the building, or exported to the grid.
7. Conclusion
This paper introduced a novel solar photovoltaic/loop-heat-pipe
heat pump water heating system, which has potential to overcome
the difculties remaining in the existing PV/thermal technologies
and is expected to be low cost, building integrating, highly efciency and aesthetically appealing. A computer model was developed to simulate the performance of the PV/LHP heat pump
system on the basis of heat balances mechanism, which gave the
predicted values of PV surface temperature, PV modules solar
thermal and electrical efciencies, and the systems overall performance coefcient (COPPV/T) at the specied operational conditions
(e.g. solar radiation, air temperature, air velocity, heat pump evaporation temperature, glazing covers, and absorbing heat pipe numbers). A prototype solar PV/LHP heat pump water heating system
was constructed, simulated and tested to examine its characteristic
performance under the xed lab conditions. Parallel comparison
between the modelling and experimental results indicated that

these two sets of data were in good agreement and therefore, the
established model was able to predict the system performance at
a reasonable accuracy (average error less than 5%).
Relations between the systems characteristic parameters (thermal, electrical efciencies and COPPV/T) and operational/geometrical conditions were individually studied under different testing
modes. It is concluded that: (1) increasing the solar radiation led
to increase in the modules thermal efciency, and decrease in
the modules electrical efciency and in the systems overall performance coefcient (COPPV/T); (2) increasing the surrounding air
temperature resulted in increase in the modules thermal efciency, and decrease in the modules electrical efciency and in
the systems overall performance coefcient (COPPV/T); (3) increasing the surrounding air velocity led to slight decreases in the modules thermal efciency, and increase in the modules electrical
efciency and in the systems overall performance coefcient
(COPPV/T); (4) increasing the heat pumps evaporation temperature
led to decrease in the modules electrical and thermal efciencies
and increase in the systems overall performance coefcient
(COPPV/T); (5) increasing number of the glazing covers led to increase in the modules thermal efciency and decrease in the modules electrical efciency and in the systems overall performance
coefcient (COPPV/T); (6) increasing number of the heat absorbing
pipes led to increase in the ns efciency and in the systems overall performance coefcient. To achieve the better operational performance for the PV/LHP heat pump system, construction of the
PV/LHP module should be made by (1) using a single glazing as
the cover of the module; (2) xing two heat absorbing pipes underneath the PV layer. During the operation of the system, the evaporation temperature of the heat pump is suggested to set to 510 C.
Further, the system is found to be able to obtain better performance at the moderate solar radiation (e.g., 400600 W/m2), and
mild surrounding air temperature (e.g., 1520 C), and lower air
velocity (e.g., 01 m/s).
The electrical, thermal and overall efciency of the PV/LHP
module at the given laboratory conditions were around 10%, 40%
and 50% respectively. This hybrid technology enables the enhanced
overall solar conversion ratio over the independent solar photovoltaic panel and the typical solar thermal collector. The overall coefcient of system performance was measured at about 8.7, which is
nearly two to four times higher than that for the conventional solar/air heat pump water heating systems. Operation of the heat
pump system was proven to self-sustainable consuming around
85% of PV generated electricity, while 15% of the PV generation
could be exported.
In overall, the research provided a method to determine the
characteristic parameters of such a new PV/LHP heat pump system
and give useful clues on how to generate the best possible system
performance in terms of the better geometrical settings and
favourite operational conditions. It obviously helps develop a solar
driven (space or hot water) heating system with enhanced efciency over conventional solar heating systems and thus contribute to realisation of the energy saving and associated carbon
emission targets set for buildings globally.
Acknowledgements
The authors would acknowledge our sincere appreciation to the
nancial supports from the De Montfort University, Shanghai Pacic Energy Centre, and EU Marie Curie International Research Staff
Exchange Scheme (R-D-SBES-R-269205).
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