The Role of Emitters, Heat Pump Size, and Building Massive Envelope Elements on the Seasonal Energy Performance of Heat Pump-Based Heating Systems

Matteo Dongellini, Paolo Valdiserri, Claudia Naldi and Gian Luca Morini
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Matteo Dongellini: Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Paolo Valdiserri: Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Claudia Naldi: Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Gian Luca Morini: Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: The influence of emitters, heat pump size and building envelope thermal inertia was investigated on the energy consumption of a heat pump-based heating system with a numerical study performed with the dynamic software TRNSYS. An algorithm based on a Thermal Inertia Control Logic (TICL), which can exploit the capability of the building envelope to store thermal energy, has been applied. When the proposed algorithm is employed, the indoor air temperature set-point is increased when the outdoor temperature is larger than the bivalent temperature of the building-heat pump system. Different configurations of the heating system were simulated considering either convective (fan-coil) or radiant (radiant floor) emitters coupled to a variable-speed air-to-water heat pump. Simulations have been carried out considering a reference building derived from the IEA SHC Task 44 and evaluating the influence of the proposed control logic on both the heat pump seasonal energy performance and the internal comfort conditions perceived by the building users. The obtained results highlight how the introduced TICL can guarantee the use of downsized heat pumps, coupled to radiant emitters, with a significant enhancement of the seasonal performance factor up to 10% and a slight improvement of comfort conditions. On the other hand, when convective terminal units are considered the proposed logic is not effective and the overall energy consumption of the system increases up to 15%.

Keywords: air-to-water heat pumps; envelope thermal inertia; demand response logic; thermal comfort; seasonal energy performance (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 (2)

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