Influence of Photovoltaic Panel Parameters on the Primary Energy Consumption of a Low-Energy Building with an Air-Source Heat Pump—TRNSYS Simulations

The integration of photovoltaic systems with heat pumps can significantly influence primary energy consumption indicators and therefore plays a particularly important role in the low-energy construction sector. This study provides a simulation-based assessment of the impact of selected photovoltaic panel parameters on the primary energy (PE) index in a low-energy building equipped with an air-source heat pump. The building, located in the relatively cold climate of north-eastern Poland, was analyzed in two insulation variants of the building envelope. In each variant and system configuration, the total amount of energy produced by the panels (EPV) and used by the system (Eused), as well as the degree to which the system’s electricity demand was covered by the photovoltaic panels (ηcov) and their self-consumption degree (ηself), were assessed. The results showed that, in the baseline scenarios, photovoltaic panels were able to generate 5586 kWh of electricity, covering an average of 60–63% of the system’s demand and achieving a self-consumption of approximately 59%. The EPV, Eused, and ηcov are inversely proportional to the ηself and PE index. The PE index, ηcov, and ηself ranged from 22.6 to 80 kWh/m2, 25.3 to 77.5%, and 23.9 to 100%, respectively, depending on the variant and configuration. The wide range of the obtained results confirms that the analyzed factors have a significant impact on the performance of building-integrated photovoltaic panels. In addition, the use of ASHP and PV instead of a gas boiler and grid electricity reduced both the EP index and CO2 emissions by 59–67%.