Evaluation of Heat Pump Operation in a Single-Family House

Since decarbonization of the energy sector is among the top priorities in the EU, with ambitious targets of carbon neutrality until 2050, the energy efficiency of the building stock and the use of renewables are those directions, which can bring the most considerable input towards the achievement of these goals. However, it is not always obvious how to efficiently combine different aspects of low energy demand, availability of renewables, part load operation conditions etc.

The results of dynamic IDA ICE simulations highlight that the introduction of renewable low-carbon energy sources should be thoroughly coupled with building energy systems and only their full compatibility can give a high efficiency of the entire energy supply system of the building. Analysing simulation data, it was concluded that for low-energy buildings, heat pumps would not always show higher COP values, compared to buildings with higher energy demand.

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) will not always be more efficient than air source heat pump (ASHP). If the ground/groundwater temperature is lower than 10 °C, for GSHP it will be almost impossible to over-compete ASHP within the same system. While COP with radiators and underfloor heating differs only by 10 %, both for ASHP and GSHP.