Article Performance Analysis of a Combined Solar-Assisted Heat Pump Heating System in Xi’an, China Chao Huan 1,3, Shengteng Li 1,3, Fenghao Wang 2,*, Lang Liu 1,3,*, Yujiao Zhao 1,3, Zhihua Wang 2 and Pengfei Tao 4 1 Energy School, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China 2 School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China 3 Key Laboratory of Western Mines and Hazards Prevention, Ministry of Education of China, Xi’an 710054, China 4 Key Laboratory of Coal Resources Exploration and Comprehensive Utilization, Ministry of Land and Resources, Xi’an 710021, China * Correspondence:
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[email protected] (L.L.); Tel.: +86 13227006940 (F.W.); +86 15829310227 (L.L.) Received: 27 May 2019; Accepted: 26 June 2019; Published: 29 June 2019 Abstract: This study proposed a combined solar-assisted heat pump (SAHP) system that could operate in the serial mode or parallel mode. For this proposed system, a stable year-round operation could be achieved without the assistance of electric heating or low-temperature heat pump. By analyzing the heat balance equations, a correlation of the combined SAHP system for the two modes switched was obtained, which provided a theoretical basis for the optimal operation of this system. In addition, the performance of the proposed system applied in a university bathroom in Xi’an district was investigated using TRNSYS. The results illustrated that compared to the serial and parallel systems, the proposed system exhibited a good performance on energy efficiency.