Experimental investigation on the photovoltaic-thermal comprehensive performance of swimming pool heating systems

Swimming pool systems typically consume a large amount of energy in terms of hot water supply and electricity supply. To prolong the swimming season and meet the energy demands of swimming pool facilities, this study establishes an outdoor PV/T simulation swimming pool heating system to investigate the photovoltaic-thermal performance and its impact on the thermal characteristics of the pool. The results show that the system exhibits good photovoltaic performance, with the all-day average PV efficiency of the two PV/T modules being approximately 19.5%. Additionally, the PV/T modules significantly heat the water, with the average temperature increase between the inlet and outlet being about 1.5°C and the average thermal efficiency of the modules reaching 20.63%. Under the heating effect of the PV/T modules, the pool water tank shows a significant thermal gain, with the all-day temperature of the tank increasing by around 10°C. The system's effective all-day power generation is 5.60 kWh, and the tank's cumulative heat gain is 2.00×104 kJ, with an average comprehensive efficiency ηc of 73.46%. demonstrating good economic and environmental benefits, thus providing an important reference for further optimization and promotion of PV/T swimming pool heating systems.