Low-carbon building heating system coupled with semiconductor radiation heating and distributed PV: A simulation analysis in two Chinese climate zones

Building is an important scenario for achieving global carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, accounting for approximately 37% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2020. In the meanwhile, the construction and operation of buildings was responsible for 36% of global energy consumption, of which 30% energy was used for space heating. Therefore, this paper proposes a low-carbon building heating system that is coupled to a new semiconductor radiation heating unit and distributed rooftop photovoltaic to reduce carbon emissions. To reveal its building heating characteristics, a dynamic model of heat transfer based on semiconductor low-temperature radiant heating is first established by analyzing the heat conduction, convection, and radiation models, and the uncertainty from both the distributed rooftop photovoltaic and building heating demand is considered in the building heating operation strategy. Then, a simulation model of a low-carbon building heating system is built in MATLAB/SIMULINK for two different climate zones in China (Beijing and Wuhan). When building and using the low-carbon building heating system stable for 30 years, the payback period is 5.2–8.2 years in Beijing and 6.4–11.6 years in Wuhan. Compared with the traditional grid-powered heating system, the simulation revealed that the carbon emissions of Beijing and Wuhan during the heating season are reduced by 44.9% and 44.3%, respectively, and the corresponding building heating cost is saved by 62.1% and 57.8%.