Solar energy plays a crucial role in global energy transformation due to its cleanliness, renewability and environmental benefits. Concurrently, transcritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) heat pump systems offer high efficiency with low carbon footprint. The study proposes a novel integration of these technologies: a CO₂ air source heat pump (ASHP) synergistically coupled with upstream photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) air heaters. The configuration preheats evaporator, inlet air through solar-thermal conversion, thereby increasing the evaporation temperature and enhancing system performance. Mathematical models developed in MATLAB and Excel experimentally validated and employed for comparative winter operating analysis against a conventional CO₂ ASHP. The research results show that the novel system exhibited a 14.2% increase in heat output and a 1.6% reduction in power consumption compared to the conventional system throughout the winter, with peak monthly heating output improvements reaching 16.9%. Crucially, the PV/T-integrated seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOPPVT) exhibits 48.5% average enhancement over the conventional system. This work provides a validated strategy for significantly improving the energy efficiency and decarbonization in cold climates space heating.