Prospective study of a novel heat pump system with solar energy spectral beam splitting

Renewable solar energy as a resource for carbon emissions reduction, its application and promotion are hindered by low energy utilization efficiency. Photovoltaic modules mainly convert solar energy into electricity only in the high-frequency spectrum band. In order to achieve a high coefficient of performance, a novel heat pump system with solar energy spectral beam splitting was developed by matching the energy grade and heat pump cycle operating conditions. This also addresses the issue that the conventional heat pump system cannot supply heat efficiently and stably in the cold region of North China. Theoretical investigations were carried out on the distribution of parameters of energy load and efficiency. Compared with conventional PV modules, solar energy utilization with spectral beam splitting, which divides solar energy into the low-frequency spectrum for thermal energy collection and the high-frequency range for power generation, ensures high power production efficiency and utilization efficiency by the cascade thermal and electric energy exploitation in the proposed novel heat pump system. Partial thermal energy is used to provide the hot water, and the rest is upgraded by an ejector-based heat pump system to meet the space heating requirements. Therefore, the novel heat pump system achieves the combined supply of space heating, hot water, and electricity with high solar energy utilization efficiency through active energy conversion and thermal energy recovery. The goal of creating a structure with zero electric power consumption appears promising. When compared to the typical single PV system's (30.7%) efficiency, the suggested system's overall energy usage efficiency (up to 81.7%) is noticeably higher. In extreme cold areas, the performance superiority of the novel system is more prominent.