Angelidis Orestis, Ioannou Anastasia, Friedrich Daniel, Thomson Alan, Falcone Gioia
James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Denmark.
Heliyon. 2024 Dec 19;11(1):e41396. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41396. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
In the efforts to decarbonise the heat sector, heat pumps can offer a cost-effective transition away from fossil fuels. Water Source Heat Pumps (WSHP) can be utilised in cases where ambient water sources (river, ground water, abandoned mines water) are present. However, the economic benefits of different levels of heat pump centralisation as well as their comparative advantages over other decentralised options such as individual Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) or Gas Boilers (GB) remain uncertain and further investigations are necessary to fully assess their potential. This study introduces CATHeaPS, a Centralisation Analysis Tool for Heat Pump Systems, a user-friendly open access modelling tool that enables the technoeconomic assessment of (a) district heating networks with a centralised WSHP, and (b) ambient networks with decentralised building level WSHPs against individual ASHPs and GB for a range of consumer classes. CATHeaPS provides a complete project cashflow for each supply option and is verified against published data and outputs from a UK industrial case study, with slightly altered data to ensure confidentiality. A data analysis highlights the break-even points for the number of residential properties, beyond which centralised solutions are more economic than decentralised energy supply options for different housing densities. A thorough sensitivity analysis is also conducted to identify the impact of different input parameters on the levelised cost of energy of each supply option. It is found that discount rate has the largest impact for both networks, followed by CAPEX and energy costs. This study aims to help stakeholders and decision makers in two ways. It introduces a novel, easy-to-use open access technoeconomic tool that enables a high-level analysis of energy, hydraulic and economic factors for any project area. Furthermore, it maps the boundaries of beneficial operation for different levels of centralisation for residential consumers and gives preliminary suggestions on which energy supply option is better suited to a given project.
在供热部门脱碳的努力中，热泵可以提供一种从化石燃料转向成本效益高的方式。在有环境水源（河流、地下水、废弃矿井水）的情况下，可以使用水源热泵（WSHP）。然而，不同程度的热泵集中化的经济效益以及它们相对于其他分散式选择（如单个空气源热泵（ASHP）或燃气锅炉（GB））的比较优势仍不确定，需要进一步研究以充分评估其潜力。本研究介绍了CATHeaPS，一种热泵系统集中化分析工具，这是一个用户友好的开放获取建模工具，能够对（a）配备集中式水源热泵的区域供热网络，以及（b）配备分散式建筑级水源热泵的环境网络，针对一系列消费者类别，与单个空气源热泵和燃气锅炉进行技术经济评估。CATHeaPS为每个供应选项提供完整的项目现金流，并根据已发表的数据和来自英国一个工业案例研究的输出进行验证，对数据进行了轻微修改以确保保密性。数据分析突出了住宅物业数量的盈亏平衡点，超过该点后，对于不同住房密度，集中式解决方案比分散式能源供应选项更经济。还进行了全面的敏感性分析，以确定不同输入参数对每个供应选项的平准化能源成本的影响。结果发现，贴现率对两个网络的影响最大，其次是资本支出和能源成本。本研究旨在通过两种方式帮助利益相关者和决策者。它引入了一种新颖、易于使用的开放获取技术经济工具，能够对任何项目区域的能源、水力和经济因素进行高级分析。此外，它描绘了住宅消费者不同集中化水平的有益运行边界，并就哪种能源供应选项更适合给定项目给出初步建议。
