Decentralised heat pumps
System benefits under different technical configurations : METIS Studies, study S6 - Study
Publication metadata
Space heating represents a major part of households and commercial buildings’ energy consumption, with around 70% of the whole final energy consumption. This heating demand is currently mainly covered by conventional boilers, fuelled by fossil energies such as gas, oil or coal. In a context of an increasing penetration of renewable energy sources in the European power mix, using electricity to generate heat could play an important role in the decarbonisation of the space heating sector, and thereby contribute to meet the European 2030 and 2050 targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction. The... most commonly known power-to-heat technology is the electric radiator, with an energy conversion efficiency close to 100%. However, the most efficient way to produce heat with power is the use of heat pump systems, where a large part of the produced heat is extracted from an external heat source (e.g. the ambient air). The overall efficiency (i.e. electricity-to-heat conversion factor) of such systems is currently around 3 to 4, and can reach up to 5 for state-of-the-art ground source heat pumps. Heat pumps are often combined with a back-up heater to avoid over-dimensioning and complement heat supply during the coldest days. The objective of this study is to evaluate the system benefits of decentralised heat pumps in the EU under different technical configurations. A literature review is first realised in order to gather technical information about various power-to-heat technologies and more specifically about technical and economic parameters of heat pumps. Subsequently, different options are defined (1) to assess the benefits of heat pumps over conventional boilers, (2) to estimate the flexibility offered by heat pumps coupled with thermal storage, and (3) to analyse the profitability of heat pumps with gas back-up heaters. These different options are analysed for two different EU power system scenarios: a 2030 “business-as-usual” scenario and a further decarbonised 2050 scenario, with a renewables share of 65% in power production and a high CO2 price.
- Published:
- Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Energy (European Commission) Themes: Energy research, Energy policy
- Subject: electrical energy, energy consumption, energy policy, energy production, energy research, energy technology, greenhouse gas, hydrogen production, reduction of gas emissions, regulatory committee (EU), renewable energy, research method
| ISSN | ISBN | DOI | Catalogue number | |
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Paper
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978-92-76-03321-9 | 10.2833/800501 | MJ-02-19-295-EN-N |
;renewable energy;research method&){kind=small}