In this paper, the performance and economic analysis of a heat pump water heater assisted regenerative solar still using latent heat storage was experimentally studied. The heat released during condensation of water vapour inside the solar still was regenerated using a heat pump to pre-heat the saline water before entering the basin and producing hot water for domestic use. The experimental observations have been made under the influence of solar irradiation, ambient temperature and ambient wind speed. The results showed that the heat pump water heater assisted regenerative solar still has attained cumulative productivity between 14.0 and 16.0 kg/day during 12 h of operation. Moreover, the system delivers more than 100 L of hot water at 46.8–52.8 °C for domestic use. The monthly average coefficient of performance of the heat pump was estimated in the range between 2.21 and 2.55. The cost per litre of distillate obtained from the system is estimated as 0.05471 USD. The payback period was estimated as 21.46 months for 275 days of operation in a year at 12% interest and distillate selling price of 0.08 USD/litre. The water samples obtained from the experiments are suitable for drinking and met the Bureau of Indian Standard requirements.

在本文中，通过实验研究了利用潜热储存的热泵热水器辅助再生太阳能蒸馏器的性能和经济分析。太阳能蒸馏器内水蒸气冷凝过程中释放的热量使用热泵进行再生，以预热咸水，然后再进入盆地并生产供家庭使用的热水。实验观测是在太阳辐射、环境温度和环境风速的影响下进行的。结果表明，热泵热水器辅助的再生太阳能在运行 12 小时期间的累积生产率为 14.0 至 16.0 kg/天。此外，该系统可提供超过 100 升 46.8–52.8 °C 的热水供家庭使用。热泵的月平均性能系数估计在 2.21 和 2.55 之间。从系统中获得的每升馏出物的成本估计为 0.05471 美元。以 12% 的利率和 0.08 美元/升的馏分油售价计算，一年 275 天的投资回收期估计为 21.46 个月。实验所得水样适合饮用，符合印度标准局的要求。