Croci L., Cristiani N., Benini M., Besagni G., 2021, Experimental Study of a Novel Integrated System for Air Conditioning and Domestic Hot Water Production, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 86, 631-636.
The integration between heat pumps and renewable energy sources is a recognized strategy to be pursued to reduce primary energy consumption in new or energetically retrained residential buildings. This paper presents the experimental research of a novel integrated system for air conditioning developed by RSE and built in the Terni laboratory at the Business Innovation Centre Umbria. The system named SINCLER (Sistema Integrato di Climatizzazione Efficiente e Rinnovabile) has been designed to meet the needs of air conditioning and domestic hot water for civil buildings using a reversible air heat pump assisted by hybrid solar panels. The thermal energy produced by the hybrid panels is used to produce hot water, while the electrical energy to power the heat pump and the various electrical equipment. The system also relies on two different storage tanks, one inside the heat pump and the other directly connected to the solar circuit, allowing a better temperatures management of the hybrid panels which effectively improved their efficiencies. The performance of the system has been evaluated in operation from June to December 2016, registering a seasonal EER (from June to September) equal to 2.9 and a seasonal COP (from October to December) equal to 3.2.
