A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling
The use of photovoltaic (PV) systems for powering heat pumps (HP) leads to an economic, energy efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for heating and cooling generation. A technical solution developed by the authors permits stand-alone configurations to operate without batteries, mitigat...
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4114 |
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author | Celena Lorenzo Luis Narvarte Ana Belén Cristóbal |
author_facet | Celena Lorenzo Luis Narvarte Ana Belén Cristóbal |
author_sort | Celena Lorenzo |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The use of photovoltaic (PV) systems for powering heat pumps (HP) leads to an economic, energy efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for heating and cooling generation. A technical solution developed by the authors permits stand-alone configurations to operate without batteries, mitigating up to 75% of the solar power fluctuations resulting from cloud-passing. Once its technical feasibility has been demonstrated, the economic potential of this innovative solution should be assessed (avoiding a battery system is a significant advantage). This paper presents a comparative economic assessment of this autonomous (AU) solution and a self-consumption (SC) solution, that would substitute a grid-powered HP system for the space heating and cooling of two livestock farms located in Spain. Results show that PV-HP systems are economically feasible regardless of the technical solution: the Profitability Index (<i>PI</i>) is in the 2.23–2.97 €/€ range, the Internal Rate of Return (<i>IRR</i>) is in the 8.1–10.9% range, the Payback Period (<i>PBP</i>) is in the 9.2–11 years range and the savings in terms of the Levelized Cost of Energy (<i>LCOE</i>) are in the 57–70% range. The AU solution offers a higher economic profitability, because it permits larger savings in the electricity bill. The SC solution presents lower <i>LCOE</i>s because of its greater electricity production. |
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id | doaj.art-c41a95f2cd804ee78e637a9dffd10b0f |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1996-1073 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:45:17Z |
publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
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series | Energies |
spelling | doaj.art-c41a95f2cd804ee78e637a9dffd10b0f2023-11-20T09:35:14ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-08-011316411410.3390/en13164114A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and CoolingCelena Lorenzo0Luis Narvarte1Ana Belén Cristóbal2Instituto de Energía Solar—Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28031 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Energía Solar—Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28031 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Energía Solar—Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28031 Madrid, SpainThe use of photovoltaic (PV) systems for powering heat pumps (HP) leads to an economic, energy efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for heating and cooling generation. A technical solution developed by the authors permits stand-alone configurations to operate without batteries, mitigating up to 75% of the solar power fluctuations resulting from cloud-passing. Once its technical feasibility has been demonstrated, the economic potential of this innovative solution should be assessed (avoiding a battery system is a significant advantage). This paper presents a comparative economic assessment of this autonomous (AU) solution and a self-consumption (SC) solution, that would substitute a grid-powered HP system for the space heating and cooling of two livestock farms located in Spain. Results show that PV-HP systems are economically feasible regardless of the technical solution: the Profitability Index (<i>PI</i>) is in the 2.23–2.97 €/€ range, the Internal Rate of Return (<i>IRR</i>) is in the 8.1–10.9% range, the Payback Period (<i>PBP</i>) is in the 9.2–11 years range and the savings in terms of the Levelized Cost of Energy (<i>LCOE</i>) are in the 57–70% range. The AU solution offers a higher economic profitability, because it permits larger savings in the electricity bill. The SC solution presents lower <i>LCOE</i>s because of its greater electricity production.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4114photovoltaicheat pumpeconomic assessmentautonomous systemself-consumption |
spellingShingle | Celena Lorenzo Luis Narvarte Ana Belén Cristóbal A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling Energies photovoltaic heat pump economic assessment autonomous system self-consumption |
title | A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling |
title_full | A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling |
title_fullStr | A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling |
title_full_unstemmed | A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling |
title_short | A Comparative Economic Feasibility Study of Photovoltaic Heat Pump Systems for Industrial Space Heating and Cooling |
title_sort | comparative economic feasibility study of photovoltaic heat pump systems for industrial space heating and cooling |
topic | photovoltaic heat pump economic assessment autonomous system self-consumption |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4114 |
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