Experimental Study of the Performance of Air Source Heat Pump Systems Assisted by Low-Temperature Solar-Heated Water

Due to the low temperatures, the heating efficiency of air source heat pump systems during the winter is very low. To address this problem, a low-temperature solar hot water system was added to a basic air source heat pump system. Several parameters were tested and analyzed. The heat collection efficiency of the solar collector was analyzed under low-temperature conditions. The factors that affect the performance of the heat pumps, such as the fluid temperature, pressure, and energy savings, were analyzed for cases where the solar energy auxiliary heat pump and the air source heat pump are used independently. The optimal heating temperature and the changes in the fluid temperature were determined. The influence of the compression ratio and the coefficient of performance (COP) were investigated theoretically. The results revealed the parameters that are important to the performance of the system. Several measures for improving the COP of the heat pump units are provided for other applications and future research.