Heat pumps can be standalone solutions even in cold climates
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) showed, through a pilot incentive program, that whole-home heat pumps are a feasible solution for heating when switching from gas. Project costs, however, were found to be higher than expected.
New incentive round for electric heat pumps in Denmark
The scheme is open to companies specializing in district heating and offers rebates covering up to 15% of the total investment made to buy and install the heat pump, with developers being eligible for a maximum of DKK5 million for each project.
Heat pump control strategy for solar assisted district heating
Researchers in Spain have proposed two control strategies for the integration of heat pumps in district heating systems assisted by solar thermal collectors. Their technical-economic analysis shows that the proposed combination can reduce reliance on gas while also reducing costs.
Air source heat pumps raise home prices
According to a recent study, installing an air source heat pump may increase a home’s value by up to 7.1% in 23 states of the United States. The price premium is estimated at between $10,400 and $17,000 per transaction and the average cost for installing an air source heat pump is around $8,000.
The world’s hottest heat pump
A Norwegian consortium has built an industrial heat pump that can reach a temperature of up to 180 degrees Celsius. The machine can be used with different industrial processes that rely on steam as an energy carrier and can reduce a facility’s energy consumption by between 40% and 70%, as it enables the recovery of low-temperature waste heat.
PV-powered geothermal heat pump system for greenhouses
The PV-powered geothermal heat pump system was tested for a year, with measurements taken by Researchers at the University of Nottingham. The UK group showed it was able to maintain an indoor temperature over 16 Celsius degrees in all seasons, except for winter.
Integration methodologies for solar-assisted heat pumps
Italian scientists have assessed the technical potential of vapor compression heat pumps assisted by photovoltaic-thermal systems. They analyzed two main configurations of this combination describing the advantages and disadvantages of both solutions. The cheapest and easiest to deploy system is a single-source direct-expansion (DX) configuration for hot water for space heating or domestic hot water.
Heat pumps bankable as incentive-free solutions in many applications
Two Italian experts on heat pumps and PV systems recently spoke to pv magazine about economies of scale, the European market, and the maturity of heating tech. The Eurac researchers said currently available heat pumps can run at -20 C and efficiently provide hot water up to 65 C.
Huge Vietnamese solar park could hit 2.8 GW within a year
An energy transition investment report published this week has also revealed the former world record low price for solar power announced by the Al Dhafra project in Abu Dhabi last year, has fallen even lower since.
Switching from subsidization to taxation may improve uptake of heat pumps coupled to PV
According to a Swedish-Austrian group of scientists, the combined use of heat pumps and rooftop PV generation may be boosted in Europe by replacing current subsidies with a carbon tax policy. Their analysis showed that the profitability of this combination is strictly dependent on gas prices, and that a slight increase in gas prices would be crucial to sustain strong development.
