An Effective Operation Strategy for CCHP System Integrated with Photovoltaic/Thermal Panels and Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

The combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system is a promising energy-efficient technology to realize energy cascade utilization. With the integration of photovoltaic/thermal panels and thermal energy storage, the comprehensive performance of the system can be further improved. However, the performance is also affected by the operation strategy. This paper proposes an effective operation strategy to deal with the energy flow of the system well to achieve a better performance. The mathematical model of a CCHP system hybridized with photovoltaic/thermal panels and thermal energy storage is established in this paper. The optimal size of key components of the CCHP system is determined by the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Case studies of four scenarios of a residential zone in Beijing are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the system structure and efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that by adding photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) panels and thermal energy storage, the economic and energetic benefits can be effectively improved and the proposed operation strategy is effective.