Thermo-ecological cost assessment and optimization for a hybrid combined cooling, heating and power system coupled with compound parabolic concentrated-photovoltaic thermal solar collectors

The aim of this work is to optimize and minimize the thermo-ecological cost (TEC) of a novel hybrid combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system integrated with solar energy. A basic natural gas CCHP system based on internal combustion engine (ICE) is coupled with compound parabolic concentrated-photovoltaic thermal (CPC-PVT) collectors to construct a novel hybrid CCHP system. To minimize the TEC, an optimization methodology was proposed to optimize the configurations and installations of ICE and CPC-PVT, as well as the operation strategies. The TECs of multi-products of the CCHP system were assessed and compared in the following electrical load (FEL) and following thermal load (FTL) modes. The impacts of key parameters on TEC were analyzed and discussed. The results of a case study indicated that the system integrated with 100% photovoltaic covered ratio and 400 kW ICE gets the lowest TEC of 2.36 J/J in the FTL mode. The TECs of electricity decline 28.8% and 17.0% in the FEL and en. modes, respectively when the photovoltaic covered ratio increases from 0 to 1.0. The increasing heat storage ratio leads to the increase of TEC of heat exergy carried by water due to the heat loss. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.