Rule Based Control Strategies of Thermal Storage in Residential Heating Systems with Air-Source Heat Pump and Photovoltaic Panels

The use of vapor-compression heat pumps for space heating and domestic hot water preparation can help to improve the flexibility of the electric power generation from solar source and to reduce its impact on the grid, by increasing self-consumption from PV systems and the autonomy of the household. However, achieving this goal requires improving demand management strategies, for example by means of electrical or thermal energy storage. Simple control strategies based on the actual PV generation and the outdoor temperature can help in shifting the demand, by taking advantage of the total storage capacity of the system. In this study, the operation of a single-family house, equipped with a radiant floor and an air-source inverter-driven heat pump for space heating and domestic hot water preparation, is simulated with the TRNSYS simulation suite. The targets are to reduce the peak power taken from the grid and to increase the self-consumption of solar energy.