Optimization of Air-Source Heat Pump Systems over the Heating Season through the Use of Renewable Energy Sources

摘要

The drive to cover with renewable energy sources an increasing quota of the energy use of a building is boosting the installation of heat pumps coupled with PV panels for residential heating applications. This HVAC solution is especially advantageous in high performance buildings when low temperature hydronic systems (e.g. radiant panels) are adopted. Nonetheless, the seasonal performance of the heating system is strongly dependent on HVAC design choices, such as the system sizes (heat pump, water storage tank, PV battery), and on the system control strategies adopted. Besides, if too many heat pumps are installed an unbearable burden may be imposed to the national power grid. Thus, an optimal design and control of the heating systems installed in high performance building is essential to ensure, along the entire heating season, not only a low energy use but also the appropriate exploitation of in-situ available renewable energy sources. This study presents a possible approach to the optimization of different system configurations, storage and control strategies for high performance buildings. A massive building located in the northern part of Italy has been considered to perform a preliminary application of this approach. The dynamic simulation of the building and its heating system was set up using the TRNSYS simulation suite and the optimization of the HVAC systems was performed coupling the simulation code with a Genetic Algorithm, to minimize the total energy consumption. Results highlight the role of thermal and electrical storage to optimize self-consumption and enhance the energy performance of air source heat pump. Besides, the study points out the issues of coupling systems with high response time in high performance buildings.