Technoeconomic Analysis and Comparison of a Solar-Based Biomass ORC-VCC System and a PV Heat Pump for Domestic Trigeneration

Abstract

A great deal of energy is consumed annually for domestic heating and cooling. Meanwhile, the policies adopted for the reduction of CO2 emissions and fossil fuel consumption have led to the development of technological solutions based on renewable energy such as biomass and solar, along with the implementation of efficient multigeneration systems. In this study, two trigeneration systems, a microscale system based on a combined organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and a vapor compression cycle (VCC), incorporating a biomass boiler and parabolic trough collectors (PTC), are economically analyzed and evaluated against a heat pump (HP) powered by photovoltaic (PV) panels (PV heat pump). The thermal loads of a building located in Crete, Greece, are considered for the analysis. The efficiency of the ORC ranges between 3.7 and 10.05% for different organic fluids and conditions, while the cogeneration efficiency is up to 73.5%. For the PV heat pump, an average efficiency equal to 15% was calculated. The payback periods of the ORC-VCC and the PV heat pump systems were estimated to be 12.3 and 12.1 years, respectively.