Evaluation of thermal performance of air source heat pump heating system based on electricity equivalent

Abstract

Thermal performance assessment and optimization for energy conversion and utilization systems are of high significance in building energy efficiency. Generally speaking, the evaluation of actual thermodynamic system performance is mainly based on the First law of thermodynamics, with emphasis on the quantity of energy consumption, while ignoring the energy quality. Thus, it results in a one-sided evaluation in the analysis of system energy saving. In this paper, the electricity equivalent is used to analyse and evaluate the air source heat pump heating system under the different working conditions. Moreover, the dynamic thermal performances of three typical space heating devices (radiator, fan coil, and radiant floor) are investigated and compared by weighing both energy quantity and quality. The results show that the COP of radiator, fan coil, and radiant floor are 3.00, 3.82, and 4.76, and coefficient of energy quality are 48.32%, 51.43%, and 50.57%, respectively. However, the robustness of its thermal performance is lower than that of radiator and fan coil. This work can provide reference for energy systems assessment and guidance for practical design of building heating systems.