Solar heat and power with thermal energy storage in the UK

Solar energy has the potential to cover a high fraction of the demand for heat and electricity in residential buildings. Fig. 1 shows the variation in incident solar irradiation received across Europe. In London the annual solar irradiation is ~1100 kWh/m2 per year, while the typical domestic energy consumption per household is ~12000 kWh/year for heating and ~4000 kWh/year for electricity. Thus the solar energy received on a rooftop of ~15 m2 is enough potentially enough to provide the entire annual demand for domestic energy. Our research focuses on various aspects of two solar technologies for the combined provision of heating and power (CHP): solar organic Rankine cycle systems with low-to-medium temperature solar-thermal collectors (Figs. 2-3) and hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) systems. (Fig.4)