Multi-objective optimization of a photovoltaic thermal curtain wall assisted dual-source heat pump system

To address the limitations of single renewable energy applications in cold regions, a novel photovoltaic thermal curtain wall assisted dual-source (air and ground source) heat pump system is proposed. The performance of the system was investigated using numerical simulations and experimental tests. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was employed to achieve the optimal design of the hybrid renewable system for a nearly zero-energy building in Shenyang, China. The energy consumption, life cycle cost, and photovoltaic power generation of the system were considered as objective functions. A sensitivity analysis was performed to study the effect of the design variables on the objective functions. The results showed that the seasonal coefficient of performance (COP) of the unit and the proposed system were 3.30 and 2.80, which are increases of 6 % and 5 %, respectively, compared with the dual-source heat pump system. According to the Pareto front obtained, life cycle cost is negatively correlated with energy consumption and positively correlated with photovoltaic power generation. When the area of the photovoltaic thermal curtain wall increased from 0 to 15 m2, the energy consumption and life cycle cost were reduced by 253 kWh and 1118 CNY, respectively.