LAUSR

Abstract To improve the efficiency of a combined cooling, heating, and power-ground source heat pump system (CCHP-GSHP), ground source heat pump cooling and heating start factors are proposed. The start factors can control the GSHP cooling and heating start load rates. Moreover, they can reduce the operating time of GSHP with a low coefficient of performance (COP) and increase the operating time with a high COP during the absorption refrigeration. A following electric load with start factors (FEL-SF) is presented as a novel operation strategy for guiding the system operation, and is compared with a traditional FEL. In the FEL-SF model, the rated capacity of the power generation unit, seasonal start factors, and seasonal GSHP energy ratios are established as decision variables. The system’s optimal objective is providing an optimal comprehensive performance in regards to energy, the environment, and the economy. The black hole (BH) algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem. A hotel building is selected as an example for analysis. The research results show that the FEL-SF operation strategy has better performance (the comprehensive performance reaches 4.0%) throughout the year. The effect of the FEL-SF strategy is superior for each index in each season. In addition, the setting of the GSHP start factors is suitable for most regions with different climates.