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A simulation study on performance improvement of solar assisted heat pump hot water system by novel controllable crystallization of supercooled PCMs

Kutlu, Cagri; Zhang, Yanan; Elmer, Theo; Su, Yuehong; Riffat, Saffa

A simulation study on performance improvement of solar assisted heat pump hot water system by novel controllable crystallization of supercooled PCMs Thumbnail


Authors

Cagri Kutlu

Yanan Zhang

Theo Elmer

YUEHONG SU YUEHONG.SU@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Thermal Science and Building Technology

SAFFA RIFFAT saffa.riffat@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems



Abstract

Domestic hot water (DHW) has a significant share in building’s energy consumption. In order to reduce this consumption, various solutions have been proposed such as controlling the system in an efficient way, using renewable sources and using phase change materials (PCM) in the system to increase heat capacity. However, this study is not only offering heat capacity improvement of the DHW storage unit but also proposing that energy efficiency can be improved by controlling the heat releasing time of the PCM. In this study, supercooled PCM tubes are placed in a water tank and charged with a solar assisted heat pump unit, these supercooled PCM tubes can then be discharged anytime when the hot water is required. In this paper, a transient thermodynamic model is built for the whole system including solar collector, heat pump, water tank with PCM and DHW demand profile. System components are modelled and a 24 h of demand profile is used in simulation for a UK home for summer and spring weather conditions. The results show that the PCM tubes effectively compensate the morning peak hot water demand and reduce daily energy consumption around 12.1% and 13.5% by shifting heating provision from immersion heater to solar heat pump.

Citation

Kutlu, C., Zhang, Y., Elmer, T., Su, Y., & Riffat, S. (2020). A simulation study on performance improvement of solar assisted heat pump hot water system by novel controllable crystallization of supercooled PCMs. Renewable Energy, 152, 601-612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.01.090

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 20, 2020
Online Publication Date Jan 21, 2020
Publication Date Jun 1, 2020
Deposit Date Apr 6, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Renewable Energy
Print ISSN 0960-1481
Electronic ISSN 1879-0682
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 152
Pages 601-612
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.01.090
Keywords Supercooled PCM; Solar assisted heat pump; DHW; Transient thermodynamic simulation
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3905405
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148120301099
Additional Information This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: A simulation study on performance improvement of solar assisted heat pump hot water system by novel controllable crystallization of supercooled PCMs; Journal Title: Renewable Energy; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.01.090; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.