Experimental and numerical study of the domestic hot water production with PV panels and a heat pump

Abstract

This article presents an experimental and modelling work which uses a compact domestic hot water heat pump (DHW-HP) that is simultaneously powered from photovoltaic panels (PV) and from the grid. Results from more than 240 days of experimental works have been used in order to develop and to validate the computer model of the system. The program, implemented in MATLAB, is computationally 'light' enough to allow mid-term simulations yet also detailed enough to accurately and coherently portray stratification within thermal storage tanks. Finally, as an example of the model capabilities, it has been used to simulate a domestic hot water tapping cycle from the European Standard EN 16147.