Proyecto I+D
Project PID2022-139566OA-I00 HPCO2Pro
Development of a new DMS-CO2 heat pump system with latent heat thermal storage for DHW and room-heating to boost the implementation of zero-emission buildings
Of National scope. With a Public character. It has been granted under a regime of Competitive.
Energy consumption in the building sector rounds 40% of the total consumption in the EU (29.5% in Spain). The EU objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and fossil fuel dependence for 2030 and 2050 (Agenda2030, EUGreenDeal, new EURenovation Wave, RepowerEU) require the decarbonization of the building sector. Since 2021 new buildings must be near zero-energy buildings. Recently the Commission has proposed that by 2030 all new buildings should be Zero-Emissions Buildings (ZEB). This is a challenge for designers that requires more efficient heating technology able to operate with renewable energy sources (RES) and to identify clear strategies to design ZEB reducing GHGE also when RES are not available. This project seeks to provide technical solutions to face this key challenge by developing a new prototype of air-water heat pump (HP) that uses CO2 as refrigerant supported by a hybrid latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system and able to operate with photovoltaic facilities to cover the thermal demand of buildings also during electricity peak-demand hours and overnight. Besides, the project will compare the proposed solution with others (such as the use of batteries) to assess and identify the best electricity load-sighting strategies for the design of ZEB in new and existing buildings. For domestic hot water (DHW) applications, transcritical CO2 HPs are one of the most efficient generators. Besides, this refrigerant promotes the circular economy of CO2,
