Investigation of a Solar Assisted Heating System

Low emissivity transpired solar collectors (low-ε TSCs) consist of metal solar absorber, collector plates, with a spectrally sensitive surface, perforated with holes. Ambient air is drawn through the holes and heated by convection from the solar collector plate, increasing the air temperature by up to 25 K. The heated air can be used for e.g. space heating or pre-heating hot water, in buildings. The performance of low-ε TSCs combined with heat pumps in various configurations, to deliver heat to buildings, has been investigated using computational models and compared with conventional heating systems to determine the potential energy, carbon and cost savings available. The results showed that using low-ε TSCs incorporated into a heat pump based ventilation air system produced annual savings in energy, CO2e and costs of up to 14%, compared to similar systems where the TSC was not used. The greatest savings were achieved when using an exhaust air heat pump. Recommendations for further development of this novel technology are also presented.