Systematic Classification of Combined Solar Thermal and Heat Pump Systems

In this paper several approaches are discussed for the analysis and comparison of combined solar thermal and heat pump systems. The discussion is based on a detailed literature review and investigations on market available systems. Based on this, an approach to describe and systematically classify combined solar thermal and heat pump systems is presented. The approach consists of three elements: A visualization scheme to systematically represent concepts of combined solar thermal and heat pump systems, a notation scheme providing the same information in letter combinations, and a simplified notation restricted to those parameters needed for classification. Such a classification is proposed with the kind of connection between the solar collector and the heat pump being the central aspect. For all three elements, examples are given.