Design and performance calculations of a solar-driven combined cooling, heating and power system

Piotr Cisek, Karol Kaczmarski, Marzena Nowak-Ocłoń, Monika Piwowarczyk, Grzegorz Ojczyk and Andrea Vallati

Energy, 2025, vol. 322, issue C

Abstract: Moving towards sustainable energy solutions requires efficient tools for designing and evaluating renewable energy systems. This study introduces the RESHeat software, a novel computational tool developed to support the design and preliminary assessment of Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) systems integrating renewable energy sources (RES). Unlike conventional dynamic simulation tools that demand advanced expertise and computational resources, RESHeat employs one-dimensional mathematical models, allowing for rapid and user-friendly system configuration. The software enables the selection and optimisation of system components, including heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, thermal energy storage, and solar collectors, while providing economic and environmental impact assessments. The article presents the methodology for determining heating power and heating energy demand, introduces a developed climatic database, and outlines the fundamental equations used by the software to estimate energy yields from RES installations. To validate its accuracy, RESHeat's performance calculations were compared against the commercial Polysun software, with results showing discrepancies below 20 %, confirming its reliability. The findings highlight the software's potential as a decision-support tool for engineers, policymakers, and investors, accelerating the adoption of RES-based CCHP systems in residential and commercial applications.

Keywords: Renewable energy sources; Heating systems; RESHeat; Energy efficiency; Solar systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:322:y:2025:i:c:s036054422501271x

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135629

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