Design and optimisation of CPV/T energy systems in residential buildings: A climate-sensitive approach using Grey Wolf algorithm

Residential buildings constitute a significant portion of global energy use, with heating, especially domestic hot water production, being one of the primary contributors. Meeting this substantial and frequently rigid demand necessitates innovative, renewable-based, and highly integrated solutions. This research presents a concentrated photovoltaic–thermal (CPV/T) energy system aimed at enhancing energy production, storage, and utilisation via sophisticated component integration through a rule-based control framework. The concept centres on an intelligent configuration strategy that facilitates real-time coordination between thermal and electrical subsystems, ensuring efficient resource utilisation. The proposed design introduces a significant innovation by eliminating battery storage, which reduces investment costs and facilitates two-way interaction with electricity and district heating networks, thus improving the integration of renewables and shaving the peak demand in residential settings. This study assesses the system's techno-economic feasibility in two European cities characterised by differing climates and regulatory environments: Trondheim (Norway), and Rome (Italy). This methodology integrates dynamic simulations in TRNSYS with Artificial Neural Network-assisted multi-objective optimisation through the Grey Wolf Optimiser. The findings indicate that the optimised configurations significantly lower operating costs, enhance renewable energy utilisation, and attain competitive levelized costs of electricity. Specifically, the Rome case achieves an efficiency of 32.1 % with an energy cost of 60 $/MWh, while the Trondheim case demonstrates strong performance despite its colder climate and reduced solar irradiance. In addition to these quantitative results, the findings indicate that the strategic integration of CPV/T systems with district heating and direct grid connection can reveal unexploited flexibility in home energy systems.