Use of photovoltaic/thermal systems, heat pumps and electrical and thermal storage for the energy self-sufficiency of residential buildings

Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Catania, Italy

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Abstract

Promoting complete decarbonization by relying on renewable sources for energy supply is a key strategy in the building sector. However, the intermittency, non-programmability, and spatial-temporal mismatch characteristics of renewable energy pose challenges to their compatibility with the electricity grid due to the mismatch between energy production and demand. This study compares the performance of generation systems consisting of a heat pump, a photovoltaic or photo-voltaic/thermal system, and electrical and/or thermal storage. In these systems, the charging and discharging phases of the storage systems are managed based on energy production and demand, with the goal of maximizing energy self-sufficiency while limiting exchanges with the grid. Using a reference building located in Sicily (Catania), the annual performance of the different system configurations was simulated using TRNSYS software. The system comprising a photovoltaic system and thermal and electrical storage increases self-consumption from 34.1% to 71.2% and self-sufficiency from 27.9% to 59.9%, compared to systems without storage systems. The system with a photovoltaic/thermal system and dual storage achieves 96.2% self-consumption and 86.9% self-sufficiency. This latter configuration al-lows for the goal of a nearly energy self-sufficient building