Energy, Environmental and Economic Analysis of Air-to-Air Heat Pumps as an Alternative to Heating Electrification in Europe

Olaia Eguiarte, Antonio Garrido-Marijuán, Pablo de Agustín-Camacho, Luis del Portillo and Ander Romero-Amorrortu
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Olaia Eguiarte: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain
Antonio Garrido-Marijuán: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain
Pablo de Agustín-Camacho: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain
Luis del Portillo: ENEDI Research Group, Thermal Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48013 Bizkaia, Spain
Ander Romero-Amorrortu: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Heat pumps (HP) are an efficient alternative to non-electric heating systems (NEHS), being a cost-effective mean to support European building sector decarbonization. The paper studies HP and NEHS performance in residential buildings, under different climate conditions and energy tariffs, in six different European countries. Furthermore, a primary energy and environmental analysis is performed to evaluate if the use of HPs is more convenient than NEHS, based on different factors of the electric mix in each country. A specific HP model is developed considering the main physical phenomena occurring along its cycle. Open data from building, climatic and economic sources are used to feed the analysis. Ad hoc primary energy factors and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission coefficients are calculated for the selected countries. The costs and the environmental impact for both heating systems are then compared. The outcomes of the study suggest that, in highly fossil fuels dependent electricity mixes, the use of NEHS represents a more efficient decarbonization approach than HP, in spite of its higher efficiency. Additionally, the actual high price of the electric kWh hampers the use of HP in certain cases.

Keywords: heat pumps; primary energy; electric mix; urban-scale decarbonization; dynamic energy tariffs; heating demand management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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