Assessment of three solar-assisted heat pump typologies in Canada: parallel, series, and ice storage

This paper discusses the energy savings, operating costs, and net present values of three typologies of solar assisted heat pump in Canada: parallel systems, series systems, and ice storage systems. Typologies are evaluated for three detached house archetypes of varying energy performances, and across a variety of Canadian climates. Hourly energy modelling is accomplished with a custom spreadsheet tool. The models developed are approximate and meant for high level analysis. This work is meant as a first step in a process of verifying the potential for each of the typologies. In most cases, the parallel system performs best in terms of annual energy savings. The paper goes over the models, assumptions, and some results. Recommendations are discussed for future research focusing on system payback times. The next step will consist of using a detailed sub-hourly simulation tool for the typology that has been found to be the most promising.