Techno-economic analysis for the assessment of heat pump integration in a real poly-generative energy district

Abstract

The present research study aims at analysing technical and economic feasible solutions for heat pumps integration in energy districts for polygeneration purpose and particularly to store excess of electricity via Power-to-heat schemes considering that, from previous researchers’ works, thermal storage has been identified as the most remunerative and easy to handle storage technology to maximise self-consumption in polygeneration grids. This technology is already developed and currently employed for conditioning of residential, commercial and industrial buildings. However, studies regarding the analysis of heat pumps’ integration in energy districts for distributed generation are still limited. The potential advantages of its employment in this context are fuel savings, a lower emission level and the possibility to couple it with local renewable energy sources (i.e. solar panels, wind turbines) and traditional generators (i.e. engines, micro gas turbines) in order to increase flexibility in operational terms. In this paper, a performance analysis of the poly-generation energy district installed at the University of Genoa Campus, located in Savona, is analysed throughout a whole year: the model is implemented using a dedicated software tool, developed by Thermochemical Power Group. Different solutions for the integration of the heat pump, including size optimization, are investigated, considering the real data related to the University of Genoa Campus: the final aim of the analysis is to determinate the best operational strategy, minimizing variable costs (i.e. fuel) and evaluating the economic feasibility of heat pump installation in the energy district. This work has been also redacted as a preliminary analysis for solar-coupled HP integration (from a optimized management point of view) to be performed in the demonstration campaign of H2020 ENVISION Project*, where both RINA Consulting and University of Genova collaborate.