Simulation study of solar-source heat pump system with sensible energy storage

A simulation study of the solar-source heat pump (SSHP) system that consists of solar collector group, heat exchanger (water-to-water), energy storage tank, heat pump with vapor compression and circulating pumps is carried out. The performance of the designed system is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The performance of coefficient of the heat pump in the refrigerant circuit (COP) and whole system (COPS) is computed in the range of 3.1-4.2 and 2.3-3.3, respectively. The sensible energy stored system used of the water as storage matter is theoretically tested for the first time in the cold climate conditions. A simulation model of the energy stored SSHP is also performed, and the simulation results are compared with the experimental conclusion. In average, the differences between the theoretical and experimental values of the COP and COPS are about 8 and 5%, respectively. It is found that the developed model corresponds well with the experimental data.