IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i15p3939-d393156.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy, Environmental and Economic Analysis of Air-to-Air Heat Pumps as an Alternative to Heating Electrification in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Olaia Eguiarte

    (TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain
    ENEDI Research Group, Thermal Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48013 Bizkaia, Spain)

  • Antonio Garrido-Marijuán

    (TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain)

  • Pablo de Agustín-Camacho

    (TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain)

  • Luis del Portillo

    (ENEDI Research Group, Thermal Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48013 Bizkaia, Spain)

  • Ander Romero-Amorrortu

    (TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 48160 Derio, Spain)

Abstract

Heat pumps (HP) are an efficient alternative to non-electric heating systems (NEHS), being a cost-effective mean to support European building sector decarbonization. The paper studies HP and NEHS performance in residential buildings, under different climate conditions and energy tariffs, in six different European countries. Furthermore, a primary energy and environmental analysis is performed to evaluate if the use of HPs is more convenient than NEHS, based on different factors of the electric mix in each country. A specific HP model is developed considering the main physical phenomena occurring along its cycle. Open data from building, climatic and economic sources are used to feed the analysis. Ad hoc primary energy factors and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission coefficients are calculated for the selected countries. The costs and the environmental impact for both heating systems are then compared. The outcomes of the study suggest that, in highly fossil fuels dependent electricity mixes, the use of NEHS represents a more efficient decarbonization approach than HP, in spite of its higher efficiency. Additionally, the actual high price of the electric kWh hampers the use of HP in certain cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Olaia Eguiarte & Antonio Garrido-Marijuán & Pablo de Agustín-Camacho & Luis del Portillo & Ander Romero-Amorrortu, 2020. "Energy, Environmental and Economic Analysis of Air-to-Air Heat Pumps as an Alternative to Heating Electrification in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:15:p:3939-:d:393156
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/3939/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/3939/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Janne Hirvonen & Juha Jokisalo & Juhani Heljo & Risto Kosonen, 2019. "Towards the EU Emission Targets of 2050: Cost-Effective Emission Reduction in Finnish Detached Houses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-29, November.
    2. Bergamini, Riccardo & Jensen, Jonas Kjær & Elmegaard, Brian, 2019. "Thermodynamic competitiveness of high temperature vapor compression heat pumps for boiler substitution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 110-121.
    3. Izquierdo, M. & Moreno-Rodríguez, A. & González-Gil, A. & García-Hernando, N., 2011. "Air conditioning in the region of Madrid, Spain: An approach to electricity consumption, economics and CO2 emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1630-1639.
    4. Martin Rüdisüli & Sinan L. Teske & Urs Elber, 2019. "Impacts of an Increased Substitution of Fossil Energy Carriers with Electricity-Based Technologies on the Swiss Electricity System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-38, June.
    5. Sugiyama, Masahiro, 2012. "Climate change mitigation and electrification," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 464-468.
    6. Biresselioglu, Mehmet Efe & Yelkenci, Tezer, 2016. "Scrutinizing the causality relationships between prices, production and consumption of fossil fuels: A panel data approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 44-53.
    7. Ala, G. & Orioli, A. & Di Gangi, A., 2019. "Energy and economic analysis of air-to-air heat pumps as an alternative to domestic gas boiler heating systems in the South of Italy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 59-74.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sam Hamels, 2021. "CO 2 Intensities and Primary Energy Factors in the Future European Electricity System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-30, April.
    2. Koldo Urrutia-Azcona & Patricia Molina-Costa & Iñigo Muñoz & David Maya-Drysdale & Carolina Garcia-Madruga & Iván Flores-Abascal, 2021. "Towards an Integrated Approach to Urban Decarbonisation in Practice: The Case of Vitoria-Gasteiz," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Hamels, Sam & Himpe, Eline & Laverge, Jelle & Delghust, Marc & Van den Brande, Kjartan & Janssens, Arnold & Albrecht, Johan, 2021. "The use of primary energy factors and CO2 intensities for electricity in the European context - A systematic methodological review and critical evaluation of the contemporary literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    4. Borge-Diez, David & Icaza, Daniel & Trujillo-Cueva, Diego Francisco & Açıkkalp, Emin, 2022. "Renewable energy driven heat pumps decarbonization potential in existing residential buildings: Roadmap and case study of Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    5. Agnieszka Żelazna & Justyna Gołębiowska & Dmytro Kosaryha, 2024. "Multi-Criteria Study on Ground Source Heat Pump with Different Types of Heat Exchangers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Giovanni Murano & Francesca Caffari & Nicolandrea Calabrese, 2024. "Energy Potential of Existing Reversible Air-to-Air Heat Pumps for Residential Heating," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-23, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sung-Hoon Seol & Ahmed A. Serageldin & Oh Kyung Kwon, 2020. "Experimental Research on a Heat Pump Applying a Ball-Circulating Type Automatic Fouling Cleaning System for Fish Farms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Darko Goričanec & Igor Ivanovski & Jurij Krope & Danijela Urbancl, 2020. "The Exploitation of Low-Temperature Hot Water Boiler Sources with High-Temperature Heat Pump Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-12, November.
    3. Fabian Ochs & William Monteleone & Georgios Dermentzis & Dietmar Siegele & Christoph Speer, 2022. "Compact Decentral Façade-Integrated Air-to-Air Heat Pumps for Serial Renovation of Multi-Apartment Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-30, June.
    4. Rüdisüli, Martin & Romano, Elliot & Eggimann, Sven & Patel, Martin K., 2022. "Decarbonization strategies for Switzerland considering embedded greenhouse gas emissions in electricity imports," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    5. Shoaib Azizi & Gireesh Nair & Thomas Olofsson, 2020. "Adoption of Energy Efficiency Measures in Renovation of Single-Family Houses: A Comparative Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Damianakis, Nikolaos & Mouli, Gautham Ram Chandra & Bauer, Pavol & Yu, Yunhe, 2023. "Assessing the grid impact of Electric Vehicles, Heat Pumps & PV generation in Dutch LV distribution grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 352(C).
    7. Nazim Hajiyev & Klaudia Smoląg & Ali Abbasov & Valeriy Prasolov, 2020. "Energy War Strategies: The 21st Century Experience," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, November.
    8. Audoly, Richard & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Guivarch, Céline & Pfeiffer, Alexander, 2018. "Pathways toward zero-carbon electricity required for climate stabilization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 884-901.
    9. Peep Pihelo & Kalle Kuusk & Targo Kalamees, 2020. "Development and Performance Assessment of Prefabricated Insulation Elements for Deep Energy Renovation of Apartment Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, April.
    10. Loris Di Natale & Luca Funk & Martin Rüdisüli & Bratislav Svetozarevic & Giacomo Pareschi & Philipp Heer & Giovanni Sansavini, 2021. "The Potential of Vehicle-to-Grid to Support the Energy Transition: A Case Study on Switzerland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-24, August.
    11. Müller, Jonas & Trutnevyte, Evelina, 2020. "Spatial projections of solar PV installations at subnational level: Accuracy testing of regression models," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    12. Wang, Zhiping & Feng, Chao & Chen, Jinyu & Huang, Jianbai, 2017. "The driving forces of material use in China: An index decomposition analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 336-348.
    13. Jovet, Yoann & Lefèvre, Frédéric & Laurent, Alexis & Clausse, Marc, 2022. "Combined energetic, economic and climate change assessment of heat pumps for industrial waste heat recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    14. Olkkonen, Ville & Hirvonen, Janne & Heljo, Juhani & Syri, Sanna, 2021. "Effectiveness of building stock sustainability measures in a low-carbon energy system: A scenario analysis for Finland until 2050," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    15. Tian, Xuelin & An, Chunjiang & Chen, Zhikun, 2023. "The role of clean energy in achieving decarbonization of electricity generation, transportation, and heating sectors by 2050: A meta-analysis review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    16. Fortes, Patrícia & Simoes, Sofia G. & Gouveia, João Pedro & Seixas, Júlia, 2019. "Electricity, the silver bullet for the deep decarbonisation of the energy system? Cost-effectiveness analysis for Portugal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 292-303.
    17. Xexakis, Georgios & Hansmann, Ralph & Volken, Sandra P. & Trutnevyte, Evelina, 2020. "Models on the wrong track: Model-based electricity supply scenarios in Switzerland are not aligned with the perspectives of energy experts and the public," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    18. Salimi, Mohammad & Faramarzi, Davoud & Hosseinian, Seyed Hossein & Gharehpetian, Gevork B., 2020. "Replacement of natural gas with electricity to improve seismic service resilience: An application to domestic energy utilities in Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. Oh, Seung Jin & Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil & Burhan, Muhammad & Chun, Wongee & Kian Jon, Chua & KumJa, M. & Ng, Kim Choon, 2019. "Approaches to energy efficiency in air conditioning: A comparative study on purge configurations for indirect evaporative cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 505-515.
    20. Izquierdo, M. & González-Gil, A. & Palacios, E., 2014. "Solar-powered single-and double-effect directly air-cooled LiBr–H2O absorption prototype built as a single unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 7-19.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:15:p:3939-:d:393156. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.