Decreasing the Load of Air to Water Heat Pump Systems on Electrical Grids

This article focuses on decreasing the energy taken from the electrical grid by air to water heat pumps in buildings that use renewable energy. Conventionally the majority of the produced renewable energy is not used directly to operate the heat pump. An energy management concept was developed, with a main new parameter – RCOP that enables to create an optimal working schedule that considers the renewable energy availability and heat pump coefficient of performance in relation to the weather. The concept was proven with computer models that use weather forecasts, renewable energy production, and heat demand. The achieved yearly savings in grid-electricity used by the heat pump were 14.3 %. The fluctuations in the grid load were decreased which as well were quantified by a lower standard deviation of the demand. In months with the best renewable energy availability, the grid electricity savings can reach up to 70 %.