A Solar PV Thermal Panel for Residential Heat-Pump Applications

• Dutch company Triple Solar has launched a photovoltaic thermal solar panel for residential buildings which can be connected to a brine or water heat pump.
• The manufacturer says the heating system based on the panel is an ideal alternative to less efficient air and water heat pumps and more expensive geothermal systems.
• The grid-connected PV system can export excess power under net metering programs. 

Netherlands-based Triple Solar BV has launched a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) module for use in rooftop projects on houses equipped with brine and water heat pumps.

“Electricity and heat provided by the PVT system will be used for powering the house and the heat pump,” said Mark Hoff, market manager for Triple Solar. He told pv magazine any excess power generated could be exported to the grid – in return for payments in territories with net metering regimes.

The PVT heat pump device costs €1,000 per installed panel and a 16m² installation can drive savings of around €2,000 per year, said Hoff, who added it was an alternative to less efficient air and water heat pumps and more costly geothermal systems.

The panels can be used in individual or communal residential installations in combination with brine and water heat pumps with a low permissible source temperature of at least -12 degrees Celsius and pumps equipped with active cooling.

The spec

For a heat pumps with a capacity of 6 kW, at least six modules covering 16m² would be required. The panels can be linked using flexible connectors provided by Triple Solar and optimal orientation for PV function would be south facing at an angle of 30-45 degrees, according to the company. “For the thermal function as a brine source the orientation is less sensitive,” Hoff said. “The quality certificate shows [the]same results for a large orientation window between east and west.”

The tubing between panels and heat pump can be installed on the roof without insulation as far as the roof flange. Indoors, the tubing has to be installed with vapor-sealed insulation. The piping should be insulated past the roof flange to prevent leakage of condensation water, Triple Solar’s Hoff added.

The panel is available in two monocrystalline PV module formats provided by Slovenian manufacturer Bisol: the M2 380 200 module, with a reported power output of 380 Wp, and the M2 315 165 L panel, with 315 Wp. The former measure 1,985 by 995 by 65cm and weigh 32kg and the latter 1,668 by 995 by 65cm and 27 kg.

Hoff added, the products are certified to European Solar Keymark standard by the Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology and Energy Storage at the University of Stuttgart and the Din Certco conformity partner of German testing institute TÜV Rheinland.

Author: Emiliano Bellini

This article was originally published in pv magazine and is republished with permission.