heating

Spanish heating specialist Elnur Gabarron offers a residential heating system that works with surplus solar power and storage heaters. The system can work as a backup solution, combined with existing conventional heating, or as a household’s main heating system, with minimal use of grid electricity.

Dutch researchers have developed a heat pump that can be used in combination with rooftop solar generation, due to its modulating capabilities and temperature flexibility. It measures 55 cm x 55 cm x 55 cm and has an output of 6 kW.

Belgian heating specialist Wanit has developed a solar water heater that purportedly reduces the cost of domestic hot water by 85%. The PV water heater solution includes a main dual tank and a solar connector that links the tank with a rooftop PV system and residential battery.

German startup Nexol has developed a photovoltaic water heating system that relies on a smart controller, with either DC and AC power. It decides autonomously if grid electricity or PV is used, with the latter always preferred.

Conceived by a German start-up, the system is claimed to achieve a 75% efficiency in converting direct radiation into heat. It may be either equipped with solar trackers or photovoltaic modules, which would both occupy the same space on the front and lateral sides of the installations.

A group of researchers in the United Kingdom is developing a modular, multi-vector energy system that can be installed into new homes and retrofitted into existing buildings to provide seasonal heat storage. In the proposed system configuration, a rooftop solar array would be used to power a heat pump or another electrical heating element, which in turn produces the heat to be stored by thermal devices.

Europe’s declining security situation and rising fossil fuel prices are driving calls for independence from gas. A new study by the Wuppertal Institute, commissioned by Greenpeace, shows that a complete shift away from fossil fuels in the heating sector could be possible for Germany within 13 years.

Spain’s National Confederation of Installers has released a technical paper about the advantages of coupling rooftop PV with heat pumps. It says that the payback time for a solar-powered heat pump can range between two and five years.

The Netherlands is at the forefront of promoting sustainable heating in Europe and the share of new buildings that are not connected to the country’s gas grid may soon approach 100%.

A U.S.-Swedish research group has investigated the complex economic relationship between PV and heat pumps in cold climates under four different levels of electrification. It found that, compared to propane, solar heat pumps can reduce reduce costs by up to 20% and carbon emissions by 30%.