Buildings are responsible for 40% of the energy consumption and 36% of the CO2 emissions in the EU. Current residential heating systems worldwide have been primarily running on fossil fuels and most are still gas or oil based. However, with the latest regulations and agreements such as Building Energy Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive and the Green Deal, specific targets have been set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For the residential heating and cooling sector, that means the prioritization of energy efficiency and electrification and heat pumps are considered as the main solution to make a transition from fossil fuel boilers to sustainable heating systems. The share of heat pump sales in the market has been continuously increasing in the last years and is expected to triple by 2030. Therefore, it is believed that the need of quantifying the energetic performance of heat pumps in a reliable and reproducible way will become even more important. This is especially important for the society and end-users, since the energy label of a heat pump is the only indicator of its performance and its energy use. It allows consumers to make comparisons between different products and make a decision based on reliable performance indicators. In this project, it is aimed to explore the possibility to develop such a labaratory setup with cutting edge technology for evaluating the energetic performance of heat pumps, providing clients reliable third party testing, certificiation and advice and contribute to the development of related new norms and regulations.
