This paper aims to present an investigation into the operational performance of a novel heat pump assisted solar façade loop-heat-pipe (LHP) water heating system using both theoretical and experimental methods. This involved (1) development of a computer numerical model; (2) simulation of the...

Energy crisis and environment deterioration are two major problems for 21st century. Thermoelectric device is a promising solution for those two problems. This review begins with the basic concepts of the thermoelectric and discusses its recent material researches about the figure of merit. It...

Simple and reliable, PV direct-coupled DC pumps are promising in solar water heating systems (SWHS). However, there is limited experimental data on the performance comparison of PV-coupled SWHS with traditional SWHS. Hence in this study, a comparative test rig is set up to measure and analyze...

Buildings composited with thermoelectric cooling and heating systems use solar energy to cool rooms in summer and heat rooms in winter via thermoelectric devices and photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) dual function modules. In summer, the thermoelectric device works as a Peltier cooler when electrical...

This paper describes a solar heat pipe thermoelectric generator (SHP-TEG) unit comprising an evacuated double-skin glass tube, a finned heat pipe and a TEG module. The system takes the advantage of heat pipe to convert the absorbed solar irradiation to a high heat flux to meet the TEG operating...

The electricity conversion-efficiency of a solar cell for commercial application is about 6-15%. More than 85% of the incoming solar energy is either reflected or absorbed as heat energy. Consequently, the working temperature of the solar cells increases considerably after prolonged operations...

A novel heat pump system is proposed in that the PV/T collector is coupled with a solar assisted heat pump and works as an evaporator. The cooling effect of the refrigerant allows the PV modules to work at lower temperature and so its photovoltaic efficiency is improved. Mathematical model has...

PV-Trombe wall (PVTW) is a novel version of Trombe-wall. Photovoltaic cells on the cover glazing of the PVTW can convert solar radiation into electricity and heat simultaneously. A window on the south façade can also introduce solar heat into the room in the winter season. Experiment has been...

A flat-box aluminum-alloy photovoltaic and water-heating system designed for natural circulation was constructed. The hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector was an integration of single-crystalline silicon cells into a solar thermal collector. The product was able to generate electricity...

The working principles and the basic features of a multi-functional domestic heat-pump (MDHP) system are introduced in this paper. Comparatively, the system can provide much better energy performance and higher equipment utilization throughout a year, causes less thermal pollution than the...