Combining technologies for cheaper, greener energy
Heating and cooling buildings consumes a huge amount of energy in Europe, mostly using imported gas, with renewable energy still playing only a marginal role. The SunHorizon project tested whether cleaner, greener technologies, when combined together and monitored, can cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy bills for consumers. The project combined two types of solar thermal panels – hybrid and high vacuum – as an energy source with several types of heat pumps (adsorption, reversible) installed in buildings in a number of pilot test sites in Europe. The project combined hybrid and high vacuum solar panels with different types of heat pumps. These included adsorption and reversable pumps. They installed the systems in a number of pilot test sites across Europe and monitored performance over changing seasons. “We were testing these combined technologies in different European climatic areas and in different applications to see how they would behave,” explains project coordinator Serena Scotton, project manager at RINA Consulting, an engineering consulting firm in Genoa, Italy. The EU has been pushing energy-efficient heat pumps as part of its decarbonisation plan, such as under the HAPPENING project. The SunHorizon team initially hoped to test the technology combinations at eight sites in Europe, but the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding in one test region and other problems meant that year-long data could only be gathered at three sites. These were: two houses in Riga, Latvia; a social housing building in Madrid with 11 apartments; and a civic centre offering sporting and cultural activities, managed by the local government in Sant Cugat del Vallés, near Barcelona.
Gathering data on energy performance
The team installed sensors in the rooms to monitor performance regarding temperature and humidity, and to gather data on the performance and the energy consumption of the combined technologies. They also had external sensors monitoring the weather outside. “We used physics-based, automated predictive modelling based on the 3D model of the building, and the data we collected from the sensors and meters inside the building, to optimise the following day’s [energy] consumption,” says Scotton. The project partners created an app so that users at the demonstration sites could provide feedback on their perception of indoor comfort levels which fed into the system’s self-learning algorithms.
Cloud based monitoring platform feeds into predictive models of energy consumption
Weather forecasts and the building simulation were integrated into a cloud-based monitoring platform to analyse the data and feed into predictive models. It took longer than expected to create the platform, notes Scotton. “It was not easy to adjust communication between sensors, and then between the data cloud and the platform. Sometimes we had an interruption in communication and lost some data. “In the end, our analysis focused on how the technologies performed based on users’ consumption in the selected climate areas.”
Positive impact on power emissions and energy costs
Data was collected for almost a year at each of the three demonstration sites. “The technologies were performing well. We were able to see a huge positive impact on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” adds Scotton. “Our goal was to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions by 40-60 %, and we managed to meet this goal for some periods, even going above in some pilots,” she remarks. Depending on the demo site, there was a decrease of 10 % to 30 % in energy bills and also some reduction in the primary energy – up to 50 % savings, the team found. For example, in Riga, the system covered a large portion of the heating normally provided by a gas boiler. “We were surprised. Even though the winter is much colder, the heater was performing at the same standard as in Madrid.” The connected solar panels and heat pumps were modified to be more efficient during the project life cycle, thanks to feedback from users and data from the monitoring system. “The data and results of the project will be useful for manufacturers and demo owners planning new installations. We are also hoping it will encourage replication in other buildings and European areas,” she says.
Keywords
SunHorizon, heat pumps, solar panels, greenhouse gases, heating, cooling, energy, sensors
