Abstract
Gas engine-driven heat pumps are an interesting option to satisfy space heating and cooling demands aiming at energy saving, environmental impact and operating costs’ reduction. This work presents (i) a comprehensive review updated on gas engine-driven heat pumps research activities, (ii) the investigation of the central role of this technology in the air conditioning sector and (iii) the future perspectives regarding gas engine heat pumps’ diffusion in the context of the energy sector decarbonisation. The outcomes highlight that gas engine heat pumps could have better environmental performance compared to electric heat pumps both in heating and cooling operations. Moreover, they could play a pivotal role in the fight against climate change and energy security since they can guarantee an energy mix differentiation moving from electricity to natural gas and renewable gases’ usage. Indeed, by 2030, a lower-carbon gas grid could be supported by renewable gases. A further investigation has concerned diffusion of gas heat pumps activated from biofuels produced by local biomass in an energy community scenario based on a low-temperature energy district network. A novel biomass-based GEHP interacting with a low-temperature district heating network is proposed here. This system could save more than 30% of primary energy compared to biomass-fuelled boilers.
Highlights
The main consequences of the increasing demand in final energy are the need to enhance the contribution from renewable sources and the interest in the more efficient utilisation of fossil fuels
Perspectives A heat pump driven by an internal combustion engine usually fuelled by natural gas is a very interesting alternative to the widespread electric systems, due to its high potential energy saving in commercial and small-scale applications
Intensive R&D activities on gas engine-driven heat pumps (GEHPs) have been performed worldwide based on experimental research, field and laboratory tests as well as on simulation models
Summary
The main consequences of the increasing demand in final energy are the need to enhance the contribution from renewable sources and the interest in the more efficient utilisation of fossil fuels. The global energy efficiency of the unit reaches 1.4, while the COP of the heat pump is 4.2 Another experimental analysis was performed by Jordan et al [10], in which an aircooled biogas-fired engine is used to activate a water-to-water heat pump to cover both process heating and cooling demand of a dairy facility. In [11], an energy analysis of a biogas-fuelled GEHP is performed, considering warm (Ancona, Italy), medium (Edinburgh, Scotland) and cold (Karlstad, Sweden) climate areas. This analysis is further extended including economic and environmental aspects in [12]. In [16], a biogas engine-driven heat pump has been evaluated on an exergy basis, developing a mathematical model
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