A Preliminary Optimisation and Techno-economic Analysis of Solar Assisted Building Heating System Using Transpired Air Solar Collector and Heat Pump in Sweden

Abstract: This thesis presents an optimisation approach and techno-economic evaluation tool for a system consisting of a transpired solar air collector and air source heat pump in a series arrangement. The thesis also investigates the application of the developed tool for feasibility study of a solar heat pump system for a group of three multi-family houses located in Ludvika, Sweden.   Transpired solar air collector is used in combination with an air source heat pump to meet space heating and hot water demand for the defined location. Moreover, the solar pre-heated fresh air is used as a heat source for the heat pump evaporator to improve its coefficient of performance. Solar heat pump systems are extensively studied by numerous researchers, However the analyses about techno-economic feasibility of air source heat pump with transpired air solar collector are still lacking. Therefore, an optimisation tool is developed based on the non-linear programming for coherent operation strategy and variation in collector flow rate. The effect of optimisation along with the techno-economic feasibility for a demo case residential building in Sweden is then preliminary studied based on the defined boundary conditions.   The analysis is gradually progressed through several phases of thesis starting from system description and followed by tool methodology and case study. A pre-developed dynamic simulation model is used to obtain the space heating and domestic hot water demand of the building. The electricity expenses of the existing system are evaluated and the results are used as a reference to compare the savings resulting from the installation of transpired solar collectors with gross area of 50 m2.   The results are presented as a defined economic indicator such as payback period. The results of the simulation reflect that the installation of 50 m2solar collector area leads to 3 % savings compared to the defined reference case, with a simple payback of 22 years. Moreover, results also indicate that variation of collector flow rate and operation timings are effective strategies to maximise the system savings. The analysis reveals that the optimisation can result in up to 60 % additional savings in comparison to a fixed flow rate case.   The developed tool has a potential use for feasibility check at an earlier stage of the installation project, without the need for extensive system simulations. Moreover, the tool overcomes the shortcoming of various available tools such as RETscreen solar air heating project model, which are not designed to evaluate the performance of solar collectors with heat pump systems.