Carrier, a US-based heating solutions provider, has introduced a new 4-14 kW line of heat pumps with a coefficient of performance of up to 4.90. The system use propane as the refrigerant and can reportedly reach leaving water temperature of 75 C.

The Chinese government says it will review 2014 anti-dumping duties on US and South Korean polysilicon imports, and will maintain them during its investigation, which was requested by 13 Chinese manufacturers.

The proposed system uses waste heat by thermally coupling a water lithium bromide absorption heat transformer with a water vapor compression heat
pump. It reportedly achieved a temperature elevation of up to 110 C and ultra-high temperature heating of up to 180 C.

Techno-economic analysis conducted by NREL researchers has shown how perovskite-silicon tandem solar modules could currently hardly compete in cost with incumbent PV panels. Production costs for U.S.-made tandem products were found to range between $0.29/W and $0.42/W, with module efficiencies ranging from 25% to 30%.

Scientists in Korea have fabricated a solar-powered charging device that can reportedly achieve a power density of 2,555.6 W kg and an energy efficiency of 63%. The system uses nickel-based compounds to enhance the electrochemical performance of its electrodes.

The Chinese manufacturer said the latest version of its Phnix HeatMaster heat pump series enables seamless integration with PV arrays. The systems have a coefficient of performance of up to 5 and can reach an outlet water temperature of 75 C.

Researchers have suggested to use a hybrid version of the so-called salp swarm algorithm (SSA) algorithm for maximum power point tracking in PV systems operating under highly fluctuating environmental conditions. The novel method also integrates the hill climbing algorithm, which simulates the process of climbing a mountain and reportedly helps find the best possible solution to a given problem.

Central Japan Railway Co. and Sekisui Chemical have revealed plans to deploy flexible perovskite-based PV systems along the Tokaido Shinkansen train line in Japan. They are using thin, lightweight, flexible film-type perovskite solar cells.

Scientists in China have used ground heat exchangers based on volcanic tuff stones to improve storage capabilities and efficiency of photovoltaic-thermal systems. Their experiments showed that the proposed combination effectively improves PV module cooling and thermal efficiency.

Researchers from four Australian universities have released a new paper questioning why solar microgrids are not the norm in remote central Australia.