Wang Peishu, Guo Xiaochao, Zhang Jili, Wei Qingpeng

2026.03.09

 China has abundant solar energy resources. The solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) integration with heat pump technology can achieve efficient combined supply of heating, power and cooling, representing a deep development and utilization of solar energy resources. However, current research mostly focuses on the performance analysis of PVT heat pump systems under typical operating conditions and lacks integration with the actual building energy demands. This paper proposes a direct expansion PVT heat pump’s heating, power and cooling solution adapted for residential users in the cold zone, and analyses the system’s annual operational characteristics and output through testing and simulation. The results show that the average heating coefficient of performance (COP) during the heating season is 1.5, and the average cooling COP during the cooling season is 2.4. The PVT module has a power generation per unit area of 75 W/m2 , an electrical efficiency of 15%, and an average daily power generation of 54.3 kWh throughout the year. The system produces a total power generation of 18 700 kWh throughout the year, with a net electricity consumption of 11 500 kWh, which can reduce carbon emissions by approximately 4 441 kg compared with that of traditional heating and air conditioning systems. Although the system can meet the building’s annual energy demands, the COP for winter heating is relatively low, and the daytime capacity in summer is somewhat wasted in the operating mode of heating in winter and cooling in summer. It is recommended to combine cross-seasonal energy storage technology to improve the system’s economic efficiency.