Study shows symbiotic effect of heat pumps and residential solar – pv magazine International

March 9, 2023 Beatriz Santos

It pays to put in warmth pumps with PV in residential homes in Germany, Spain, and Italy, relatively than the know-how itself, SolarPower Europe mentioned in a brand new report.

“The set up of photo voltaic PV enhances the house’s warmth pumps and fulfills a big extent of its electrical energy wants. The financial savings for each applied sciences collectively are greater than every particular person know-how,” the report says.

The trade physique fashions three eventualities for medium-sized households in Germany, Spain, and Italy through the power disaster in 2022. A “PV-only” situation, a “warmth pump-only ” situation, and a “PV plus warmth pump” combo situation, which additionally features a buffer – a sizzling water storage tank. The financial savings are in comparison with the worth a mean household house would pay by getting all its electrical energy from the grid and utilizing a fuel boiler for heating.

The PV system is assumed to have a capability of 8 kW in Germany and seven kW in Spain and Italy. An air-source warmth pump with 7 kW, 3 kW, and 4 kW output is modeled for 3 nations, respectively. In Germany, the capability of the storage tank is about at 800 liters, and at 400 liters in Spain and Italy.

The warmth demand for area and water heating is modeled at 12,000 kWh to twenty,000 kWh, for current constructing shares and utilizing a fuel boiler with 85% effectivity. The annual electrical energy demand for a mean household house is estimated at 4,000 KWh to 4,500 kWh, and the fuel and electrical energy costs for 2022 are set in keeping with the Family Power Value Index.

“All of the related assist measures that apply to common household houses are included,” mentioned SolarPower Europe, saying that it contains fuel VAT cuts in all three nations. For PV electrical energy era, financial savings from feeding electrical energy again to the grid are additionally included.

The outcomes present that Italian households save essentially the most through the use of a PV-heat pump combo at €3,766 ($3,984), reportedly resulting from Italy’s excessive electrical energy costs. Germany adopted with financial savings of €3,614, and Spain at €2,831.

“The discount in financial savings in Spain displays the steps taken by the Iberian market to decrease wholesale electrical energy costs,” mentioned SolarPower Europe.

The mixture of the 2 applied sciences reduces power payments by 62% in Germany, 83% in Italy, and 84% in Spain, in comparison with the situation the place households draw all electrical energy from the grid and use fuel for heating. .

Within the “warmth pump-only” situation, the financial savings for Germany quantity to €1,884, €958 for Spain, and €506 for Italy. Within the “PV-only situation”, Italy has financial savings of €2,935, Spain of €1,352, and Germany of €1,263.

The research additionally exhibits that photo voltaic PV and warmth pumps can work collectively successfully all year long if a buffer storage tank can also be put in. In Germany, solar energy can cowl 36% of the warmth pump’s whole electrical energy demand in a chilly 12 months with low PV output, in keeping with SPE. Spain and Italy, rained by the solar, introduced the most effective outcomes. Even in a chilly 12 months with low PV enter, photo voltaic covers 59% of warmth pump demand in Spain, and 50% in Italy.

The SPE concluded the report with 5 coverage suggestions for decreasing the payback interval of the PV-heat pump combo from the present 20 years to a extra engaging 10 years. This contains rising Capex assist for joint investments, providing loans at low rates of interest, and selling collective self-consumption.

“The most effective time to put in photo voltaic PV + warmth pumps is yesterday,” mentioned Dries Acke, coverage director of SolarPower Europe. “The following finest time is now. European coverage makers must carry the advantages of gas-free houses to a wider inhabitants.