Research on the application of water-loop (tank) heat pump systems in catering buildings

The use of thermal energy in catering buildings is normally mishandled and causes significant waste of thermal energy. To increase the efficient use of energy and decrease the total amount of a catering building’s energy consumption, independent thermal systems should be integrated. If thermal systems are integrated, coupling utilization of thermal energy will be possible, and the primary energy input of a building will be utilized to a greater extent. To implement this concept, a water-loop (tank) heat pump system is necessary and its most important aspect is the design of the thermal storage tank (serving as the water-loop). In this paper, a typical catering building has been selected, and the building’s thermal service systems (processes) are studied in detail. The amount and state of the current thermal energy utilization within each service system is analyzed, and a specific integrated thermal system model is suggested. The research work conducted for this study is based on simulations, such as building thermal load simulations (DesignBuilder software), characteristic simulations of the water-loop heat pump system (TRNSYS software), optimal dimensions and thermal characteristic simulations of the thermal storage tank, etc. The energy consumption characteristic analysis and the technical and economic analysis of the entire building model are discussed, and the optimal scheme for process allocation and optimal operation mode are also presented in this paper. Based on the analytical results (including simulation of building thermal load, simulation of systematic energy consumption, performance analysis of the system, economical analysis, and exergy analysis), the advantages of the system model are demonstrated.