Search

International Energy Agency predicts that the global number of installed heat pumps (HP) will increase from 180 million in 2020 to approximately 600 million by 2030, covering 20% of buildings heating needs. Electric power consumption is one of the main key performance indicators for the heat pump systems from techno-economic perspective. However a common issue prevalent in many existing heat pumps is the lack of electric power measurement. The modern installations might be equipped with electric power measurement sensors but this comes at a higher system cost for the manufacturers and end-users. The primary objective of this work is to propose a virtual measurement for estimating power consumption, thereby eliminating the need for field measurement of power for heat pumps. To achieve the objective, a data-driven approach is proposed. Firstly, the in-situ data is preprocessed through data merging, cleaning, and normalization. Then, input features are pre-selected using Spearman correlation coefficients, and further refined by addressing multicollinearity problem. Following this, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models and polynomial models are developed by considering different features as inputs. All models are finally validated against the in-situ data from multi-units of ground source heat pump (GSHP) and air source heat pump (ASHP) installations. The results showed that the electric power consumption of GSHP can be estimated with high accuracy (99% for R 2 , 10 W for MAE, and 1% for MAPE) through generic data-driven models using only four easy-to-measure input features. Taking three input features as inputs for ASHP generic model, the accuracy can be reached to 83% for R 2 , 125 W for MAE, and 9% for MAPE. The method presented in this paper can be applied to estimate power consumption of millions of heat pumps and consequently add a significant value as well as provide different types of services, such as cost-saving benefits for manufacturers and end-users, flexibility services for aggregators and electricity grids. • Collect and analyze in-situ data from multiple residential GSHP and ASHP units. • Propose a two-step feature selection method to indicate the most essential inputs. • Evaluate the most predominant features by data-driven models with different inputs. • Develop high accuracy generic data-driven models with limited inputs features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous cost-optimal studies have been undertaken by EU member states to define minimum energy performance requirements for buildings within that member state in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. As few of these studies have examined the effect of heating and ventilation system parameters on life cycle cost (LCC) and energy use in detail, this paper analysed 84 HVAC solution-sets, including parameters for the heating supply system, heating distribution system and ventilation system, for a case study in Norway. The choice of heating supply system was the dominant parameter, with ground source heat pump solutions offering the lowest purchased energy use and LCC. Electric water heating and district heating systems had low capital costs which make these options more attractive to property developers looking for a good return on investment. Using an exhaust ventilation system with an exhaust air heat pump lowered LCC and capital costs for ground source heat pump and district heating systems but does not meet current Norwegian energy regulations. Despite using more energy, a constant setpoint schedule resulted in a lower LCC than a variable setpoint system due to the variation in hourly energy pricing and the dominant role of monthly pricing based on peak load. The choice of yearly heating strategy and heat emitter had a relatively small impact on energy use, capital cost and LCC. With all the parameters combined, there was variation within each heating system of up to 21 kWh/(m2∙year) in energy use, 78 Euro/m2 in capital cost and 236 Euro/m2 in LCC. Therefore, it is important that such system parameters are considered in cost-optimal assessments to give a fair comparison of HVAC systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A whole system approach to studying a low-temperature HGSHP system. • 3D coupled TH model with realistic boundaries and dynamic heat pump COP. • Design of a HGSHP system to support a 5th generation DHC network. • Different factors on performance of the HGSHP system and ground thermal behaviour. • Ground moisture transfer, cooling process and buried depth are important. Exploitation of shallow ground and its low-grade heat potential is fundamental to designing 5th generation district heating and cooling (DHC) networks. Horizontal ground-source heat pump (HGSHP) systems are a common way to utilize shallow geothermal energy. Realistic estimation and prediction of performance of a HGSHP system and shallow ground thermal behaviour should consider the whole system including building heating and cooling load, heat pump and ground heat exchanger, and the ground. This should be accompanied by realistic atmospheric and ground conditions. In this paper, a three-dimensional coupled thermal–hydraulic model with realistic boundary conditions adopting a whole system approach is presented. Dynamic heat pump coefficient of performance (COP) that depends on seasonal variation of heating/cooling demand and ground conditions are also considered. Model validations are conducted against experimental and analytical results in literatures. The model is applied for evaluating a HGSHP system to support development of a 5th generation DHC network on a potential site in the UK. Several influencing factors, such as ground moisture transfer, building thermal load mode, buried depth of ground loops, and initial ground temperature profile are studied to assess performance efficiency of the HGSHP system and evolution of ground thermal behaviour in response to heat extraction or rejection into the ground. The results show that 5% of the monthly total heat demand of the site could be met by the designed HGSHP system, consisting of 200 U-shaped ground loops buried at the depth of 3 m and pure water as the heat carrier. Overlooking the ground moisture transfer or hyperbolizing the ground saturation would overestimate the load-carrying capacity of the HGSHP system. The HGSHP system is more efficient with a higher heat pump COP under the heating and cooling mode than under the heating-only mode. Predicted performance of the HGSHP system improves with buried depth of the ground loops. The results also show that a 1 ℃ increase in the undisturbed ground temperature could suffice up to 8% of the monthly total heat demand of the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are one of the most efficient systems that offer a promising reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy use in buildings; however, the electrification of buildings' heating and cooling using GSHP is facing two critical challenges: its high initial cost and potential adverse impact on the electrical grid. In this paper, to address these challenges, two novel systems are proposed in which a battery, a water thermal storage tank, and a phase change material (PCM) thermal storage tank are integrated, in different configurations, with a conventional GSHP system. In these systems, the grid electricity during off-peak periods is stored as heat or electricity in the thermal or battery energy storage systems. The stored energy is then used in peak building load conditions to reduce the peak power demand on the grid. New numerical models are developed to quantify the proposed systems' benefits. Furthermore, these newly proposed systems are compared with the conventional systems used in Quebec, Canada, and three previously proposed worldwide systems. Simulations are conducted for different commonly used design practices, including undersized and adequately sized heat pump capacities. The results show that the proposed systems can reduce the peak power demand and total energy requirement of a conventional system by up to 65.4% (9.28 kW) and 67.0% (19,722 kWh), respectively. Furthermore, the proposed systems' borehole length decreases by up to 21.8% (39 m) compared to the conventional GSHP system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Over the technologies' typical 20-year lifetime, most UK dwellings have a cost optimum low-carbon heating system using air source heat pumps. • Dwelling properties and spatiotemporal variabilities significantly change the optimum low-carbon technology from blue hydrogen boilers, direct electrical heating, and air source heat pumps, to ground source heat pumps. • Direct electrical heating is economically preferred over heat pumps in lower demand dwellings and with analysis over shorter timescales. • Incentives for low-carbon heating need to target adoption of efficient technologies to reduce the greater increase in network demands. An understanding of heating technologies from the consumers' perspective is critical to ensure low-carbon technologies are adopted for reducing their current associated emissions. Existing studies from the consumers' perspective do not compare and optimise the full range and combinations of potential heating systems. There is also little consideration of how spatiotemporal and dwelling variations combined alter the economic and environmental effectiveness of technologies. The novelty of this paper is the creation and use of a new comprehensive framework to capture the range of heating technologies and their viability for any specific dwelling's traits and climate from customers' perspective which is missing from current studies. The model optimises combinations of prime heaters, energy sources, ancillary solar technologies and sizes, thermal energy storage sizes and tariffs with hourly heating simulation across a year and compares their operation, capital, and lifetime costs alongside emissions to realise the true preferential heating systems for customers, which could be used by various stakeholders. Using the UK as a case study, the results show electrified heating is generally the optimum lifetime cost solution, mainly from air source heat pumps coupled with photovoltaics. However, direct electrical heating becomes more economically viable as dwelling demands reduce from smaller dwellings or warmer climates, as shorter durations of the ownership are considered, or with capital cost constraints from lower income households. Understanding this is of high importance, as without correctly targeted incentives, a larger uptake of direct electrical heating may occur, which will burden the electrical network and generation to a greater extent than more efficient heat pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the numerical simulation of a solar assisted ground coupled heat pump (SAGCHP) system which can provide both space heating and domestic hot water (DHW). The optimization process is completed on the TRNSYS based platform by simulating the influence of solar collector area on the total borehole length and system performance. Simulations are also carried out under different meteorological conditions to explore the applicability of the proposed SAGCHP system in northern China. The simulating results show that the optimized system under the specified load conditions has a collector area of 40m2 and a borehole length of 264m. The annual total heat extraction plus 75% of the hot water requirement can be provided by solar energy in the optimized design. Furthermore, the energy balance of the optimized design is confirmed with a minor difference of 0.75%, and the system is proved more efficient and economical for its application in Beijing area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]