A novel photovoltaic solar assisted heat pump (PV-SAHP) system has been proposed in this study. Performance tests with a range of condenser supply water temperature were conducted on an experimental rig. The dynamic performance of this PV-SAHP system in a 4-day period with very similar weather conditions was analyzed and the influencing factors were identified. The results indicate that this PV-SAHP system has a superior coefficient of performance (COP) than the conventional heat pump system and at the same time, the photovoltaic efficiency is also higher. The COP of the heat pump was able to reach 10.4 and the average value was about 5.4. The average photovoltaic efficiency was around 13.4%. The highest overall coefficient of performance (COPp/t), bringing into consideration both the photovoltaic and thermal efficiency, was about 16.1. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.