In this work, we investigate the replacement of a gas boiler with an electric air-to-water heat pump (AWHP) as a heating generation system for a detached single-family house. Attention is paid to the recent increase in energy prices in Italy. The evaluation of the energy consumption is done via a dynamic analysis performed by employing Trnsys. The investment results are economically advantageous only if the thermal energy demand is quite high, and the recent energy price increase (for both natural gas and electricity) leads to disadvantages in replacing the heat generation system in all the considered cases.

dynamic simulation, heat pump, net present value, energy prices, economic analysis.

Received: October 7, 2022; Accepted: November 15, 2022; Published: December 15, 2022

How to cite this article: Vincenzo Ballerini and Eugenia Rossi di Schio, Replacement of gas boilers with air source heat pumps: an economic analysis based on a Trnsys evaluation and on the actual energy prices in Italy, JP Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 30 (2022), 151-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.17654/0973576322061

This Open Access Article is Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References:

[1] K. Hainsch, K. Löffler, T. Burandt, H. Auer, P. C. del Granado, P. Pisciella and S. Zwickl-Bernhard, Energy transition scenarios: what policies, societal attitudes, and technology developments will realize the EU Green Deal? Energy 239 (2022), 122067.
[2] M. H. Abbasi, B. Abdullah, M. W. Ahmad, A. Rostami and J. Cullen, Heat transition in the European building sector: overview of the heat decarbonisation practices through heat pump technology, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 48 (2021), 101630.
[3] A. M. Omer, Geothermal heat pump potential and prospect for energy efficient, sustainable development, and the environment, Discovery 54 (2018), 164-188.
[4] S. Backe, S. Zwickl-Bernhard, D. Schwabeneder, H. Auer, M. Korpås and A. Tomasgard, Impact of energy communities on the European electricity and heating system decarbonization pathway: comparing local and global flexibility responses, Applied Energy 323 (2022), 119470.
[5] T. Brudermann and T. Sangkakool, Green roofs in temperate climate cities in Europe- An analysis of key decision factors, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 21 (2017), 224-234.
[6] J. Darkwa, G. Suba and G. Kokogiannakis, An investigation into the thermophysical properties and energy dynamics of an intensive green roof, JP Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 7(1) (2013), 65-84.
[7] P. Valdiserri, V. Ballerini and E. Rossi di Schio, Interpolating functions for CO2 emission factors in dynamic simulations: the special case of a heat pump, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 53 (2022), 102725.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2022.102725.
[8] P. Valdiserri, V. Ballerini and E. Rossi di Schio, Hourly data for evaluating the carbon dioxide emission factor of heat pumps or other devices connected to the Italian grid, Data in Brief 45 (2022), 108682.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.108682.
[9] E. Rossi di Schio, V. Ballerini, M. Dongellini and P. Valdiserri, Defrosting of air source heat pumps: effect of real temperature data on seasonal energy performance for different locations in Italy, Applied Sciences 11(17) (2021), 8003. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11178003.
[10] V. Ballerini, M. Dongellini, E. R. di Schio and P. Valdiserri, Effect of real temperature data on the seasonal coefficient of performance of air source heat pumps, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2177 (2022), 012025. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2177/1/012025.
[11] E. R. Di Schio, V. Ballerini and P. Valdiserri, The bin method to investigate the effect of climate conditions on the SCOP of air source heat pumps: the Italian case, WSEAS Transactions on Heat and Mass Transfer 17 (2021), 124-130. https://doi.org/10.37394/232012.2022.17.13.
[12] R. Li and G. C. Leung, The relationship between energy prices, economic growth and renewable energy consumption: evidence from Europe, Energy Reports 7 (2021), 1712-1719.
[13] G. Ala, A. Orioli and A. Di Gangi, Energy and economic analysis of air-to-air heat pumps as an alternative to domestic gas boiler heating systems in the south of Italy, Energy 173 (2019), 59-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.02.011.
[14] J. Barnes and S. M. Bhagavathy, The economics of heat pumps and the (un)intended consequences of government policy, Energy Policy 138 (2020), 111198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111198.
[15] V. Ballerini, E. Rossi di Schio and P. Valdiserri, How the energy price variability in Italy affects the cost of building heating: a Trnsys-guided comparison between air-source heat pumps and gas boilers, Buildings 12 (2022), 1936. doi:10.3390/buildings12111936.
[16] R. Dott, M. Haller, J. Ruschenburg, F. Ochs and J. Bony, IEA-SHC Task 44 Subtask C Technical Report: The Reference Framework for System Simulations of the IEA SHC Task 44/HPP Annex 38: Part B: Buildings and Space Heat Load, IEASHC, 2013.
http://www.taskx.ieashc.org/data/sites/1/publications/T44A38_Rep_C1_B_Refere nceBuildingDescription_Final_Revised_130906.pdf.
[17] S. A. Klein et al., TRNSYS 17: A Transient System Simulation Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA, 2010.
[18] ARERA Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy Networks and Environment, Prices and rates in the standard-offer market (gas), 2019-2022. https://www.arera.it/it/prezzi.htm.