Adoption of Photovoltaic-Driven Heat Pump Systems in Residential Buildings: A Systematic Review of Policy Influences

Photovoltaic (PV)-driven heat pump systems are increasingly recognised as a pathway for reducing residential carbon emissions, improving solar self-consumption and supporting the transition to low-carbon housing. Nevertheless, it remains unclear in the literature how existing policy frameworks, incentive structures and regulatory settings affect the adoption of PV-driven heat pump systems in residential buildings. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review policy-related evidence and identify how government incentives, tariffs, building regulations and institutional support influence the uptake of integrated PV and heat pump systems. A qualitative systematic literature review will be applied because the topic draws on evidence from renewable energy policy, residential building regulation, electrification strategies and household energy transition studies. PRISMA-based search and selection procedures will be used to ensure a transparent process for identifying, screening and including relevant sources, such as peer-reviewed journal articles, academic review papers, conference papers, policy reports and credible institutional publications. Relevant sources will be searched through key academic databases and selected policy sources, screened using inclusion and exclusion criteria, assessed for quality and analysed through thematic analysis. The thematic analysis will use deductive coding based on policy support, incentive design and regulatory barriers, followed by inductive coding to identify emerging themes such as policy fragmentation, tariff uncertainty, subsidy coordination and institutional readiness. The novelty of this study lies in examining PV-driven heat pump adoption as a policy integration problem within a holistic residential energy system, rather than treating PV and heat pump technologies as separate technologies. The expected contribution is a deeper understanding of how coordinated policy design can support household investment in integrated low-carbon energy systems. The practical impact is that the findings can help policymakers, industry stakeholders and housing planners develop more effective support measures for residential decarbonisation.