Economic considerations and cost comparisons between the heat pumps and solar collectors for the application of plume control from wet cooling towers of commercial buildings

This communication presents a case study based on the economic considerations and comparisons between the heat pump and solar collector heating systems for the application and utility to control the visible plume from wet cooling towers of a huge commercial building in Hong Kong. A detail economic study for both cases, i.e. for heat pumps as well as for solar collectors is done and compared using different (capital and operational) costs, taking other constraints into account. The capital cost is the actual cost of the device, for example, for a heat pump it is the cost of the heat pump machine. For a solar collector it is the cost of all the components like the collector, pipes, pump, heat exchanger, etc. On the other hand, the operational cost is the cost that keeps the system working in good condition. For a heat pump, the cost of the input power to the compressor is the running cost, while the necessary maintenance and replacement of parts comes under other cost. Similarly, for a solar collector, the cost of the power consumed by the pump/compressor to circulate the working fluid is the running cost which is very less as compared to the former. It is found that all the costs are much lesser for a solar collector system while it is reverse in the case of an air-cooled geothermal heat pump system. Other comparisons between the electric and geothermal heat pump systems are also given among different possible options.     

Correlations for cost of ground‐source heat pumps and for the effect of temperature on their performance

Ground source heat pump systems are becoming more and more popular, even though their high initial cost is an obstacle to their wider penetration of the heating and cooling market. The purchase of the heat pump itself is one of the dominant costs, and the heat pump selection also influences the operation costs through its coefficient of performance (COP) value. However, few studies are available on this topic. Based on 23 water–water heat pump models available on the market, a correlation was developed to estimate their purchase cost as a function of the nominal cooling load of the heat pump. These heat pumps can be used in geothermal applications as well as in other heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems. The correlation is valid for a nominal cooling load between 20 and 841 kW. The nominal COP of the heat pumps was found to have virtually no effect on their purchase costs. Also, two correlations were developed to relate variations of cooling power and COP to the temperature levels on both sides of the heat pump. The heating mode is also considered. The correlations are useful to estimate the required nominal size of a heat pump given design operating conditions and to optimize ground source heat pump systems from a techno‐economical standpoint. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy and economic comparisons of domestic heat pumps and conventional heating systems in the British climate

The energy performance of an electrically driven heat pump in a typical installation has been estimated for three locations in the United Kingdom. Comparisons made of the heat pump performance with electric resistance, oil and gas heating systems using an annualised life-cycle cost method of analysis showed that the heat pump offers economic advantages over the electric resistance heaters and the oil-fired boiler, but is not an economic alternative to the gas-fired central-heating system. To become competitive with gas-fired boilers, either the capital cost of the heat pump must be substantially reduced or its seasonal coefficient of performance increased by about 50%.A heat pump can be economically attractive when it is integrated into existing fuel-fired central-heating systems or when it is used with thermal storage and run on economy 7 electricity.     

Solar heat pump systems for domestic hot water

Vapour compression heat pumps can upgrade ambient heat sources to match the desired heating load temperature. They can offer considerable increase in operational energy efficiency compared to current water heating systems. Solar heat pumps collect energy not only from solar radiation but also from the ambient air. They can operate even at night or in totally overcast conditions. Since the evaporator/collector operates at temperatures lower than ambient air temperature it does not need glazing or a selective coating to prevent losses. Currently, however, they are not used much at all in domestic or commercial water heating systems. In this paper comparison is made of a conventional solar hot water system, a conventional air source heat pump hot water system and a solar heat pump water heating system based on various capital city locations in Australia. A summary is given of specific electricity consumption, initial and operating costs, and greenhouse gas generation of the three systems dealt with in this paper. The ultimate choice of unit for a particular location will depend heavily on the solar radiation, climate and the local price paid for electricity to drive or boost the unit chosen.     

Performance and economic feasibility of ground source heat pumps in cold climate

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are attractive alternatives to conventional heating and cooling systems owing to their higher energy utilization efficiency. In this paper, the effect of various system parameters on GSHP performance is studied using a computer model. Also, a comparative economic evaluation is carried out to assess the feasibility of using a GSHP in place of conventional heating/cooling systems and an air source heat pump. The results indicate that system parameters can have a significant effect on performance, and that GSHP is economically preferable to conventional systems. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study of solar assisted heat pump systems for canadian locations

The feasibility of solar assisted heat pump systems for space heating and domestic hot water preheating in Canada is examined by simulating the performance of these systems on a computer using the program WATSUN. Simulations are carried out using meteorological data for seven representative Canadian cities, two different building types, and six types of system configurations. For the solar assisted heat pump system, twenty year life cycle cost comparisons are made with two reference systems, namely a conventional resistance heating system and an air-to-air heat pump system, based on current economic parameters and projected escalation scenarios for electricity rates.Results of the study show that the solar assisted heat pump systems conserve significant amounts of energy over resistance heating and heat pump systems. On the life cycle unit cost basis, solar assisted heat pump systems costs are relatively insensitive to location, but the dependence on building types is substantial with multiplex dwellings showing the least cost. Liquid based dual source solar assisted heat pump systems are found to be cost effective over resistance heating (but not over an air-to-air heat pump system) at some of the locations for multiplex units. They are not cost effective for single family dwellings at the present time.     

Energy and exergy analysis of fossil plant and heat pump building heating system at two different dead-state temperatures

In this paper, we deal with the energy and exergy analysis of a fossil plant and ground and air source heat pump building heating system at two different dead-state temperatures. A zone model of a building with natural ventilation is considered and heat is being supplied by condensing boiler. The same zone model is applied for heat pump building heating system. Since energy and exergy demand are key parameters to see which system is efficient at what reference temperature, we did a study on the influence of energy and exergy efficiencies. In this regard, a commercial software package IDA-ICE program is used for calculation of fossil plant heating system, however, there is no inbuilt simulation model for heat pumps in IDA-ICE, different COP (coefficient of performance) curves of the earlier studies of heat pumps are taken into account for the evaluation of the heat pump input and output energy. The outcome of the energy and exergy flow analysis at two different dead-state temperatures revealed that the ground source heat pumps with ambient reference have better performance against all ground reference systems as well as fossil plant (conventional system) and air source heat pumps with ambient reference.     

The energy saving obtainable with solar heating and heat pumps in a northern climate

The energy saving obtainable with active solar heating and heat pumps has been studied for several years in the Northern climate of Finland. The studies deal mainly with small houses. A computer program is developed which calculates hour by hour the annual energy balance of different heating systems. The performance, of the heating systems are also measured in inhabited houses. The calculations show that the useful solar energy obtainable from the collector is 50–400 kWh/m² annually depending on the system and the collector size. A heat pump in the system is very advantageous, because it keeps the heat losses low and the collector efficiency high. It approximately doubles the energy obtainable. The measurement results have not been as good as expected. The solar energy obtained from the collector has been 120–160 kWh/m² annually. The main reasons for the low solar energy are design and equipment faults and the shading effects. The best energy saving device is the earth heat pump. It is also therefore very advantageous that the peak power demand decreases markedly. When the area of the earth pipes is large enough, energy may be extracted from earth through the whole year. The annual coefficient of performance is 2–3. Also a heat pump which extracts heat from exhaust air in dwelling houses has been very promising.     

热泵原理及发展和供热经济性分析

对热泵原理进行了阐述,介绍了热泵在我国的发展与应用,对热泵的技术性和热泵供热的经济性进行了分析,并与其它常用能源供热所需费用进行了综合的比较,提出了热泵技术在中国的发展前景和展望。     

Domestic heat pumps in the UK: user behaviour, satisfaction and performance

Consumer adoption of microgeneration technologies is part of the UK strategy to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. Domestic heat pumps are viewed as a potentially important carbon saving technology, given the ongoing decarbonisation of the electricity supply system. To address the lack of independent evaluation of heat pump performance, the Energy Saving Trust undertook the UK??s first large-scale heat pump field trial, which monitored 83 systems in real installations. As part of the trial, the Open University studied the consumers?? experience of using a domestic heat pump. An in-depth user survey investigated the characteristics, behaviour, and satisfactions of private householders and social housing residents using ground source and air source heat pumps for space and/or water heating, and examined the influence of user-related factors on measured heat pump system efficiency. The surveys found that most users were satisfied with the reliability, heating, hot water, warmth and comfort provided by their system. Analysis of user characteristics showed that higher system efficiencies were associated with greater user understanding of their heat pump system, and more continuous heat pump operation, although larger samples are needed for robust statistical confirmation. The analysis also found that the more efficient systems in the sample were more frequently located in the private dwellings than at the social housing sites and this difference was significant. This is explained by the interaction between differences in the systems, dwellings and users at the private and social housing sites. The implications for heat pump research, practice and policy are discussed.     

Comparison of energy and exergy analysis of fossil plant,ground and air source heat pump building heating system

The energy and exergy flow for a space heating systems of a typical residential building of natural ventilation system with different heat generation plants have been modeled and compared. The aim of this comparison is to demonstrate which system leads to an efficient conversion and supply of energy/exergy within a building system.The analysis of a fossil plant heating system has been done with a typical building simulation software IDA–ICE. A zone model of a building with natural ventilation is considered and heat is being supplied by condensing boiler. The same zone model is applied for other cases of building heating systems where power generation plants are considered as ground and air source heat pumps at different operating conditions. Since there is no inbuilt simulation model for heat pumps in IDA–ICE, different COP curves of the earlier studies of heat pumps are taken into account for the evaluation of the heat pump input and output energy.The outcome of the energy and exergy flow analysis revealed that the ground source heat pump heating system is better than air source heat pump or conventional heating system. The realistic and efficient system in this study “ground source heat pump with condenser inlet temperature 30 °C and varying evaporator inlet temperature” has roughly 25% less demand of absolute primary energy and exergy whereas about 50% high overall primary coefficient of performance and overall primary exergy efficiency than base case (conventional system). The consequence of low absolute energy and exergy demands and high efficiencies lead to a sustainable building heating system.     

地热水源热泵技术应用市场前景

该文描述了利用水源热泵技术的直接、间接经济效益和环境效益；并针对水源热泵设备的类型及供暖规模适用范围进行了优化设计；通过动态监测的实际工程运行参数指出使用水源热泵比燃气锅炉更经济。     

污水源热泵技术及其应用

介绍了污水源热泵的特点。通过对空气源热泵、地源热泵和污水源热泵等不同采暖系统的经济性和环保效果分析显示，污水源热泵系统的初投资为地源热泵的70％左右。综合考虑初投资和运行费用等因素，污水源热泵系统的经济效果和环保效果最为显著。     

Economic comparison of solar-assisted heat pumps

A study of the economic performance of a solar system, air-to-air heat pumps, and several solar-assisted heat pump systems (SAHP) for residential heating is presented. The study is based on a computer simulation which is supported by monitoring data from an existing installation, the Terrosi-Grumman house in Quechee, Vermont. Three different SAHP configurations as well as conventional solar and air-to-air heat pump systems are evaluated for a northern New England climate. All systems are evaluated both with and without a peak/off-peak electricity price differential.

The SAHP systems are: (1) the series system in which the solar storage serves as the energy source for the heat pump, (2) the series off-peak system in which the heat pump in the series system operates only during certain periods of the day under a special electric rate structure, (3) a parallel system in which the environment is the source for both the collector and the heat pump, and (4) a peak/off-peak parallel system in which oil is operated during the period of peak electricity price. Hybrid air-to-air heat pump/oil systems are also evaluated.

For all alternatives, two different economic analyses are used: (1) the rate of return which emphasizes the return earned on the capital investment, and (2) the life cycle critical price which compares the current capital cost to the present worth of the stream of all future energy savings.

Both economic measures select the air-to-air heat pump/on-peak oil system when there is a peak/off-peak electricity price differential. (In this case the ratio of off-peak to average price is 40 per cent.) When there is no price differential, the air-to-air heat pump/oil system is still preferred, but the oil system is now operated when the ambient temperature falls below −6.7°C (20°F). When the electricity price is doubled (from 19.5 to 40$/GJ), solar/oil is the preferred system.     

太阳能制冷与供暖系统的设计与比较

根据上海的气候条件，以上海地区某写字楼为对象，提出4种太阳能驱动的溴化锂吸收式与电动蒸汽压缩式热泵联合制冷与供暖系统。这4种系统分别由热管式真空管集热器或抛物面槽形聚光集热器，单效或双效溴化锂吸收式制冷机，以及风冷热泵或水源热泵构成。分析比较这4种系统的节能型和经济性的结果表明，采用抛物面槽形聚光集热器＋双效溴化锂吸收式制冷机＋风冷热泵组成的系统，同时具备较好的节能性与经济性，一次能源利用率可降低约50％。     

An economic and technical case for a compressor/expander unit for heat pumps

Despite their obvious environmental benefit, heat pumps in general have difficulties in penetrating the heating market because of the high initial capital cost. However, given the fact that in the U.K. space heating alone accounts for nearly 50 per cent of all the primary energy used, the universal adoption of heat pump subsidies similar to those offered by certain German utilities for example would be an effective contributor to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission. However, it would be improper for subsidies alone to be the only mechanism by which heat pumps could gain the scale of market acceptance necessary in order to make the required greenhouse gas emission cuts. Therefore, a new generation of heat pumps must have a superior performance than existing units operating with HCFC R22 or R407c. The use of R410a can aid heat pump market penetration by having heat pumps of a superior performance and a smaller size. However, to make full use of R410a, the difficulties of the relatively low critical point must be overcome and the use of a novel compressor/expander unit is illustrated. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

热泵工艺在油田注水站的应用分析

热泵系统也称余热回收系统,是使用部分驱动能源(如燃气、蒸汽、燃气或热水),将余热形式为地热水、冷却水、洗涤水或伴油污水,温度在20~70℃的低品位能量取出,转移到45~100℃的中高温热媒中的系统。热泵系统在利用低品位热能的同时,仅消耗少量电能,节能效果显著。我国直到20世纪90年代,开始大面积应用热泵技术。目前,在热泵制造、安装和运行规模上,已走到了国际前例。现在,不管是压缩式热泵,还是吸收式热泵,也不论是设备还是系统,其技术已经成熟,热泵机组制热温度达到45~100℃,COP值(能量与热量之间的转换比率,简称能效比)也达到相当高的水平,机组的超小型化和超大型化技术得到长足发展,被广泛应用到建筑、烘干、石油化工、医药、筑路等领域。以热泵工艺在油田注水站的应用为分析对象,针对热泵的起源、发展、工作原理及在注水站的应用展开论述,着重从初期投资、运行费用、人工费用、社会效益、节约清水及10年费用现值方面,对注水站采用热泵冷却工艺与常规冷却工艺进行对比分析,提出了注水站采用热泵工艺有利于提高注水站系统的热能效率,降低运行成本,减少加热炉加热过程中产生的废气和余热排放,实现节能减排,对于热泵工艺在大庆油田注水站的应用具有借鉴意义。     

Influence of massive heat‐pump introduction on the electricity‐generation mix and the GHG effect—Belgian case study

To evaluate the environmental impact of massive heat‐pump introduction on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, dynamic simulations of the overall electricity‐generation system have been performed for Belgium. The simulations are carried out with Promix, a tool that models the overall electricity‐generation system. For comparison, three heating devices are considered, namely conventional boilers, heat pumps and electrical resistance heating. The introduction of electric heating at the expense of classic heating increases the demand for electricity and generates a shift of emissions from fossil‐fuel heating systems to electrical power plants. The replaced classic fossil‐fuel‐fired heating represents emissions of about 300 kton. With regard to the heat‐pump scenarios, both direct heat‐pump heating with a coefficient of performance (COP) of 2.5 and accumulation heat‐pump heating with a COP of 5 are investigated. The results of the simulations reveal that the massive introduction of heat‐pump heating is favourable to the environment. In Belgium, the largest reductions in GHG emissions occur with heat pumps for direct heating, combined with newly commissioned combined cycle (CC) gas‐fired plants or with accumulation heat‐pump heating. These scenarios bring about overall GHG emission reductions of approximately 200 kton compared with the reference case with conventional heating for the years 2000 and 2010. The amount of additional electricity‐related emissions depends on the considered heating device. In 2010, the scenario with accumulation heat pumps results in an overall decrease of Belgian GHG emissions by 0.15% compared with the reference scenario. The expansion of the electricity‐generation system with new CC plants has an important favourable impact on GHGs as well. In most cases, the combination of higher electricity demand and the construction of new gas‐fired CC plants will lead to lower overall GHG emissions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solar assisted heat pump on air collectors: A simulation tool

The heating system of the bioclimatic building of the Greek National Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) comprises two heating plants: the first one includes an air source heat pump, Solar Air Collectors (SACs) and a heat distribution system (comprising a fan coil unit network); the second one is, mainly, a geothermal heat pump unit to cover the ground floor thermal needs. The SAC configuration as well as the fraction of the building heating load covered by the heating plant are assessed in two operation modes; the direct (hot air from the collectors is supplied directly to the heated space) and the indirect mode (warm air from the SAC or its mixture with ambient air is not supplied directly to the heated space but indirectly into the evaporator of the air source heat pump). The technique of the indirect mode of heating aims at maximizing the efficiency of the SAC, saving electrical power consumed by the compressor of the heat pump, and therefore, at optimizing the coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat pump due to the increased intake of ambient thermal energy by means of the SAC. Results are given for three research objectives: assessment of the heat pump efficiency whether in direct or indirect heating mode; Assessment of the overall heating plant efficiency on a daily or hourly basis; Assessment of the credibility of the suggested simulation model TSAGAIR by comparing its results with the TRNSYS ones.     

Alternative technologies for US residential water heating : Energy savings and economic benefits

This article evaluates the energy savings and direct economic benefits of introducing heat pump and solar water heaters to the US residential market and the effects of a tax credit for solar installations. Energy savings are estimated for ten regions of the USA, as well as for the country as a whole, over the period 1977–2000. Changes in annual fuel bills and capital costs for water heaters are also computed. The results suggest that heat pump water heaters are likely to offer much larger benefits than solar heaters, even with tax credits. This is because heat pumps provide the same electricity savings (about 50%), but at a much lower capital cost.