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Heat pumps are a vital element for reaching the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets in the heating sector, but their system integration requires smart control approaches. In this paper, we first offer a comprehensive literature review and definition of the term control for the described context. Additionally, we present a control approach, which consists of an optimal scheduling module coupled with a detailed energy system simulation module. The aim of this integrated two part control approach is to improve the performance of an energy system equipped with a heat pump, while recognizing the technical boundaries of the energy system in full detail. By applying this control to a typical family household situation, we illustrate that this integrated approach results in a more realistic heat pump operation and thus a more realistic assessment of the control performance, while still achieving lower operational costs.
Coupling electricity and heat sector is one of the most necessary actions for the successful energy transition. Efficient electrification for space heating and domestic hot water generation is needed for buildings, which are not connected to any district heating network, as distributed heating demand momentarily is largely met by fossil fuels. Hence, hybrid energy systems will play a pivotal role for the energy transition in buildings. Heat pumps running on PV-electricity is one of the most widely discussed combination for this purpose. In this paper, a heuristic optimization method for the optimal operation of a heat pump driven by the objective for maximum onsite PV electricity utilization is presented. In this context, the thermal flexibility of the building and a thermal energy storage (TES) for generation of domestic hot water (DHW) are activated in order to shift the operation of the heat pump to times of PV-generation. Yearly simulations for a system consisting of heat pump, PV modules, building with floor heating installation and TES for DHW generation are carried out. Variation parameters for the simulation include room temperature amplitude (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 K) based on mean room temperature (21 °C), PV-capacity (4, 6, 8 and 10 kW) and type of heat pump (ground source and air source type). The yearly energy balances show that buildings offer significant thermal storage capacity avoiding an additional, large TES for space heating fulfillment and improving the share of onsite PV electricity utilization. With introduction of a battery, which has been analyzed as well for different sizes (1.9, 4.8, 7.7 and 10.6 kWh), the share of onsite PVelectricity utilization can even be improved. However, thermal flexibility supplemented by the varying room temperature amplitude for a bigger battery does not improve the share of onsite PV-electricity utilization. Nevertheless, even with a battery not more than 50% of the electrical load including operation of the heat pump can be covered by PV-electricity for the specific system under investigation. This is noteworthy on the one hand, since it indicates that a hybrid heating system consisting of heat pump and PV cannot solely cover the heat demand of residential buildings. One the other hand, this emphasizes the necessity to include further renewable sources like wind power, in order to draw the complete picture. This, however, is beyond the scope of this paper, which mainly focuses on introduction and verification of the novel control method with regard to a practical building.
Heat pumps in combination with a photovoltaic system are a very promising option for the transformation of the energy system. By using such a system for coupling the electricity and heat sectors, buildings can be heated sustainably and with low greenhouse gas emissions. This paper reveals a method for dimensioning a suitable system of heat pump and photovoltaics (PV) for residential buildings in order to achieve a high level of (photovoltaic) PV self-consumption. This is accomplished by utilizing a thermal energy storage (TES) for shifting the operation of the heat pump to times of high PV power production by an intelligent control algorithm, which yields a high portion of PV power directly utilized by the heat pump. In order to cover the existing set of building infrastructure, 4 reference buildings with different years of construction are introduced for both single- and multi-family residential buildings. By this means, older buildings with radiator heating as well as new buildings with floor heating systems are included. The simulations for evaluating the performance of a heat pump/PV system controlled by the novel algorithm for each type of building were carried out in MATLAB-Simulink® 2017a. The results show that 25.3% up to 41.0% of the buildings’ electricity consumption including the heat pump can be covered directly from the PV installation per year. Evidently, the characteristics of the heating system significantly influence the results: new buildings with floor heating and low supply temperatures yield a higher level of PV self-consumption due to a higher efficiency of the heat pump compared to buildings with radiator heating and higher supply temperatures. In addition, the effect of adding a battery to the system was studied for two building types. It will be shown that the degree of PV self-consumption increases in case a battery is present. However, due to the high investment costs of batteries, they do not pay off within a reasonable period.