Performance Evaluation Of A Hp/Orc (Heat Pump/Organic Rankine Cycle) System With Optimal Control Of Sensible Thermal Storage

In energy systems with high share of Renewable Energy Sources, like wind and solar power, it is paramount to deal with their intrinsic variability. The interaction between electric and thermal energy (heating and cooling) demands represent a potential area for balancing supply and demand that could come to contribute to the integration of intermittent renewables. This paper describes an innovative concept that consists in the addition of an ORC to a combined solar system coupled to a ground-source heat pump in a single-family building. The ORC enables the use of solar energy in periods of no thermal energy demand and reverses the heat pump cycle to supply electrical power. A dynamic model based on empirical data of this system is used to determine the annual performance. Furthermore, this work assess the benefits of integrating a sensible thermal energy storage and determine the best control solution to improve the overall energy efficiency of the system and renewable energy integration in different climates