CPC F24D 19/106 (2013.01) [F24D 17/0021 (2013.01); F24D 17/0068 (2013.01); F24D 17/02 (2013.01); F24D 19/1063 (2013.01); F24D 2200/02 (2013.01); F24D 2200/14 (2013.01); F24D 2200/32 (2013.01); F24D 2220/0207 (2013.01); G06Q 50/06 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |
1. A solar thermal assisted water heating system comprising:
a thermal collector comprising a plurality of fluid channels configured to collect heat from a surface of a photovoltaic module;
a drain-back tank coupled to the thermal collector;
a first pump coupled to the drain-back tank and configured to pump fluid from the drain-back tank to the thermal collector;
a first heat exchanger configured to receive the fluid from the thermal collector;
a heat pump coupled to the first heat exchanger and configured to remove heat from the fluid and to heat water with the removed heat;
a bypass valve configured to prevent the fluid pumped by the first pump from flowing through the thermal collector when the bypass valve is active; and
a controller configured to activate the bypass valve when a temperature difference between the thermal collector and the drain-back tank is below a first threshold value.
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