Experimental studies on photovoltaic-thermal heat pump water heaters using variable frequency drive compressors

Abstract The present work attempts to devise an efficient method utilizing an on-grid photovoltaic-thermal heat pump water heater (PV-THPWH) integrated with a real-time variable frequency controller to achieve the goal of energy-efficient buildings. The prime focus is to reduce the grid's dependence on the compressor's energy-intensive operation by employing a feedback-controlled variable frequency drive (VFD). Additionally, the possibilities involved with addressing the electrical and thermal energy requirements of an energy-efficient building was investigated utilizing the proposed system. R-32 refrigerant in the photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) evaporator coils of the heat pump assembly help to cool the photovoltaic (PV) panel while delivering the absorbed heat in the condenser to heat water contained inside the storage tank. Outdoor experiments and theoretical investigations of the combined system were carried out to appraise the dynamic behavior under varying solar irradiation and ambient temperature conditions. The observations conveyed that the PV-THPWH system succeeded in reducing the PV panel operating temperature by 25%, which resulted in a 20% increment in PV power output. Also, the performance indicators, such as the instantaneous energy efficiency and instantaneous PV efficiency, were found to increase by 15% and 34%, respectively, resulting in an average coefficient of performance of 6.4. For a clear sky day, the recorded total PV energy output was 4.67 units, while the VFD compressor consumption was 3.42 units, and the surplus 1.25 units were sent to the grid. Furthermore, the economic analysis reported a payback period of 2.3 years for the developed PV-THPWH system.