Retrofit domestic hot water solution based on PV-driven heat pump, water tank
Scientists in Italy have coupled a solar-powered air heat pump with a water tank for thermal energy storage to provide hot water to a residential building as a retrofit solution. They claim that the proposed system configuration can achieve a “desirable” thermal performance while reducing annual electricity consumption.
Brazil announces 2 GW solar plan for social housing program
Brazil has announced a new 2 GW solar strategy. It plans to build 2 million new social housing units by 2026 and will deploy two PV modules in each home, providing 1 kW of power per dwelling.
Fire hits industrial building, PV system in Switzerland
A fire hit an industrial building and its PV system in Switzerland earlier this month, but the cause of the blaze remains unclear.
US manufacturer introduces roof mount with integrated sealant
Pegasus Solar has developed the InstaFlash pre-installed sealant for composite shingle roofs.
TSUN launches kit for garden, balcony PV systems
Chinese inverter manufacturer TSUN says its new balcony PV kit consists of one or two 20.7%-efficient solar modules, a 96.7%-efficient microinverter, a bracket, and cables.
Thermoacoustic heat pump prototype for residential building heating
An international research team has fabricated a heat-driven thermoacoustic heat pump prototype that is claimed to achieve a heating capacity of 5.7 kW and a coefficient of performance of 1.4, with a heating temperature of 300 C and a heat-sink temperature of 55 C. The device uses medium/low-grade heat sources and is purportedly able to offer a complementary solution to the existing domestic heating methods.
Winter westerlies drive differences in rooftop solar across eastern Australia
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for Australia in June. The data showed that Eastern New South Wales received irradiance about 15% above normal for June, whilst central and western Victoria received totals 10-20% lower than normal.
New system design for PVT systems coupled with air-to-water reversible heat pump
Spanish scientists have proposed a new approach to combine photovoltaic-thermal panels with a reversible air-to-water heat pump in industrial buildings. The system is intended to provide space heating, cooling, domestic hot water, and electricity.
How to maximize power generation in PV blinds
Scientists in South Korea have stressed the importance of accurately setting the angle of slat PV blinds to maximize power generation. They found that there is a tradeoff between elevated power yield and self-shading effects in this BIPV technology.
Slovakia offers $156.1 million for 2023 residential PV, heat pump rebates
The Slovakian authorities are offering €140 million ($156.1 million) in rebates for 2023 to cover up to 50% of the cost of buying and installing solar water heaters, heat pumps, biomass systems, solar-thermal collectors, and PV systems up to 10 kW in size.
