Performance of direct expansion photovoltaic-thermal evaporator assisted compression heat pump water heaters using a zeotropic mixture
Yogaraja J. Mohanraj M. Manikandan J. Muthusamy P.
15 March 2024Elsevier Ltd
Solar Energy
2024#271
The single-component refrigerant used in a direct expansion photovoltaic-thermal evaporator assisted compression heat pump water heater gets excess superheating, which results in uneven panel cooling and a loss in compressor volumetric efficiency. To tackle these issues, a binary zeotropic refrigerant mixture consisting of R290 and R600a (mass fraction of 0.6:0.4) with a temperature glide of 4–7 °C is proposed in this research. The performance parameters such as compressor volumetric efficiency, compressor power consumption, condenser heating capacity, photovoltaic power output, photovoltaic efficiency, coefficient of performance and solar energy absorption coefficient were predicted under the influence of solar irradiation, ambient wind speed, ambient temperature and ambient relative humidity. The results showed that the DXPV-TE using R290/R600a mixture has 3.8–10.3 % improved electrical power output than R134a by improving thermal uniformity of the panel. The R290/R600a mixture has 1.1–2.5 % lower compressor power consumption with 0.6–1.9 % higher relative compressor volumetric efficiency than R134a. Moreover, the R290/R600a mixture has a 3.5–7.9 % higher coefficient of performance than R134a because of 4.2–5.7 % higher condenser heating capacity. The proposed system using R290/R600a mixture has 88.34 % lower environmental impact than electrical resistance water heaters. The payback duration was estimated as 1.221 years compared to electrical-resistance water heaters.
Compression heat Pump heaters , Direct expansion photovoltaic-thermal evaporator , Zeotropic mixtures
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Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, 641032, India
Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, 641032, India
Heat Pump Research Institute, Coimbatore, India
Department of Mechanics, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pollachi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, India
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Automobile Engineering
Heat Pump Research Institute
Department of Mechanics
Department of Mechanical Engineering
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