Energy and exergy analysis of solar integrated air source heat pump for radiant floor heating without water

The solar integrated air source heat pump (SIASHP) with R407c for radiant floor heating without water (RFHW) is proposed and investigated. The first generation of prototype of SIASHP RFHW system developed is suitable for marketization at the present. On the basis of experiment room in Taiyuan, the energy and exergy analysis of SIASHP RFHW system are implemented, compared with the same type of conventional air source heat pump (ASHP). On the condition of −9.9 °C outdoor calculated dry-bulb temperature for space heating in winter, Taiyuan and a 130 W/m2 solar irradiance, the 76.8% exergy efficiency of SIASHP is 7.9% higher than the 71.1% exergy efficiency of ASHP. The 2.55 COP of SIASHP is 5.8% higher than the 2.41 COP of ASHP. From 9:00 to 21:00, the 2.89 kWh power consumption of SIASHP is 7.4% lower than the 3.12 kWh of ASHP. The 52.7% process quality number of SIASHP is higher than the 51.4% of ASHP. The SIASHP RFHW system with no water pipe exposed to outdoor environment is safe and convenient for the narrow and vertical outdoor installation space of high-rise building users to meet their individual demand of space heating.