Optimal usage of low temperature heat sources to supply district heating by heat pumps

This paper presents a theoretical study on the optimal usage of different low temperature heat sources to supply district heating by heat pumps. The study is based on data for the Copenhagen region. The heat sources were prioritized based on the coefficient of performance calculated for each hour. Groundwater, seawater and air heat sources were compared with each other as well as to a scenario consisting of a combination of these heat sources.

In addition, base load and peak load units were included. Characteristic parameters were the coefficient of performance, the number of full load hours and the covered demand of each heat source as well as required peak unit capacity. The results showed that heat pumps using different heat sources yield better performance than a heat pump based on a single one.

The performance was influenced by the composition of the different heat sources. It was found that 78% groundwater, 22% seawater and 0% air resulted in highest COP of 3.33 for the given heat demand. Furthermore, the implementation of rule based short term storage made peak units redundant. The variation in base load capacity showed that heat pumps utilizing the analyzed heat sources could perform very efficiently without the presence of base load with a COP of 3.43.