Inverter Heat Pumps as a Variable Load for Off-Grid Solar-Powered Systems

Alexander V. Klokov, Alexander S. Tutunin, Elizaveta S. Sharaborova, Aleksei A. Korshunov and Egor Y. Loktionov ()
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Alexander V. Klokov: State Lab for Photon Energetics, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, 5-1, 2nd Baumanskaya Str., Moscow 105005, Russia
Alexander S. Tutunin: State Lab for Photon Energetics, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, 5-1, 2nd Baumanskaya Str., Moscow 105005, Russia
Elizaveta S. Sharaborova: State Lab for Photon Energetics, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, 5-1, 2nd Baumanskaya Str., Moscow 105005, Russia
Aleksei A. Korshunov: Department of Geotechnics, Northern (Arctic) Federal University, 17, Naberezhnaya Severnoy Dviny, Arkhangelsk 163002, Russia
Egor Y. Loktionov: State Lab for Photon Energetics, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, 5-1, 2nd Baumanskaya Str., Moscow 105005, Russia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: The capacity of electric air conditioning and heating systems is growing rapidly, as is the nameplate capacity of PV power plants. While the demand for cooling has a positive correlation with solar irradiance, the demand for heating has an opposite relation. In this study, different approaches to design (aggregation; thermal, battery, and implicit storage) and control (frequency conversion; variable and adaptive load) and their effects on the efficiency of an off-grid active thermal stabilisation system based on a solar-powered heat pump are analysed. The case considered is a permafrost thermal stabilisation system in Norway. It is shown that proper layout and control of the system with an adaptive load can reduce capital expenditures and the total cost of ownership by 30–40%. Increases in the capacity factor and cooling stability of the systems with aggregated and variable loads are studied. The downside is that there is an increase in the compressor’s operation time by 50% with a variable load and by 25% per unit with aggregation, which means more frequent replacement in terms of motor hours. The approaches considered are applicable in a wide range of solar-powered facilities with a positive correlation between solar irradiation and energy demand, but the results are quite case-sensitive. The prospects of using excess refrigerant and soil for thermal energy storage instead of traditional electrochemical batteries are considered.

Keywords: renewable energy; solar energy; heat pump; battery energy storage; adaptive load; permafrost thawing; thermal stabilisation (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: 2023
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