Cost and performance of heat-pump-TES and solar-TES household energy systems

Abstract

In order to understand the various possibilities and roles thermal energy storage (TES) can play in household energy systems, Argonne National Lab. has studied the engineering performance and economics of such systems. This phase of the study concentrates on the use of TES in conjunction with solar-augmented and heat pump residential energy systems that provide hot water, space heating, and space cooling. The overall effort is directed towards evaluating the interaction of these systems with electric utilities in terms of costs and benefits to both the utility and the consumer. This interaction depends on the system's overall design, performance, and cost characteristics. This evaluation covers the three basic household energy services that lend themselves to thermal energy storage: hot water, space heating, and space cooling. The systems are evaluated individually; however, it is more likely that final design could be integrated to achieve a more-effective system. The exception to this is the heat pump, which is generally sized to handle the cooling load, although it also supplies heating capacity. The solar systems are augmented by an electric utility. The systems are designed to minimize their impact on the utilities load-management problems by use of a TES subsystem. The study evaluatesmore » these systems for a single-family dwelling unit, although it is recognized that systems for multiple dwelling units are often technically and economically more viable. Detailed evaluations of hypothetical future systems for which there is little basis to perform an economic evaluation are not included in this report. They will be considered in an assessment of R and D alternatives in the final study report. A summary evaluation is made, however, of the characteristics of some advanced TES subsystems, in order to illustrate how much improvement they would offer over the baseline systems.« less