Residential Systems Based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Scandinavian Climate

Energy saving is an open point in most European countries where energy policies are oriented to reduce the use of fossil fuels, greenhouses emissions and energy independence and to increase the use of renewable energies. In the last several years, new technologies have been developed, and some of them received subsidies to increase installation and reduce cost.

This article presents an innovative cogeneration system based on a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system and heat pump for household applications with a focus on primary energy and economic savings using electric equivalent load parameter which is a function of the electricity and heat demand of the user, and allows different operation strategies to be considered.

The proposal is to maximize the efficiency of the system and to make it profitable, even though technologies with a high purchase cost are considered. Simulations of the system are performed under different strategies at a resort located in a northern European climate (Denmark) to cover electricity, space heating and domestic hot water (DHW) demands.

The results of these simulations are analyzed with thermodynamic and techno-economic benchmarks, considering different economic scenarios. The calculations show the high primary energy saving and profitability of the system.