PVT for Planners and Architects: Renewable Heating and Electricity for (Almost) Any Type of Building.

PVT is suitable for all types of buildings, from private homes and apartment buildings up to industrial plants and low-temperature local and district heating networks. There are virtually no limitations for the use of PVT. Wherever heating and process heat are needed, PVT can provide a solution. In many cases, when geothermal heat pumps are planned, PVT can reduce the required drilling depth or height, representing a significant cost-saving factor in projects. In some instances, geothermal systems can even be completely replaced by PVT.

As with all energy concepts, the earlier PVT is considered in the planning phase, the more effectively the process can be managed. The advantage of PVT is that, due to the commonality of PV, no significant additional effort is required in planning and design. Most buildings already have available roof space. If PV is planned, a substructure must be designed anyway. The same applies to PVT, and a hydraulic pipe can be installed on this substructure, leading to the heating or technical room where a brine, water, or heat pump is located. This can be combined with storage solutions or the integration of additional energy sources. These include, for example, ice storage, buffer tanks, geothermal baskets, ground collectors, deep boreholes, as well as combinations with fossil heating systems to cover peak loads.

PVT is often more efficient than geothermal systems because it produces both electricity and heat simultaneously. A geothermal system delivers only heat. In terms of cost and long-term efficiency, PVT is very economical compared to purely geothermal solutions. The initial investment for a PVT system is also significantly lower than that of a geothermal system or even a combination of geothermal and PV—that is, separate energy systems and energy flows. Consequently, the design effort is naturally lower. Since the roof is already planned in most cases for renewable energy, there is no significant additional effort in planning and design, making substantial cost savings possible in this regard.

PVT systems serve as heat source for brine-to-water heat pumps, not primarily as electricity providers. This means that operating a PVT system is only worthwhile in combination with a brine-to-water heat pump. The exception is swimming pool heating, where direct operation is also possible. In in this specific case, the only component required between the PVT system and the pool is a heat exchanger. In common applications, the PVT system is hydraulically connected to the brine-to-water heat pump, with a supply and return line. Each module has a supply and return connection and is linked to the corresponding pipe via a connection hose. Due to the low pressure drop, up to 20 modules can be connected in a single hydraulic line.