RESHeat: Powering homes with renewable energy

Project description

More than half of a household’s annual energy consumption is for space heating and air conditioning. In EU households, heating and hot water alone account for 79 % of total final energy use, while three quarters of heating and cooling is still generated from fossil fuels. Switching to renewable heating and cooling technologies can help reduce fossil fuel use.

The EU-funded RESheat project developed a system using solar energy as the primary renewable energy source. The system integrates sun-tracked photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) panels and solar collectors, combined with advanced underground energy storage units. These enable efficient seasonal energy storage and improve the performance of the heat pump over time, reducing overall electricity consumption.

RESHeat delivers an advanced 100% renewable combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system that includes seasonal underground energy storage. The system enables the use of solar energy as the primary renewable energy source and allows for the simultaneous production of heat and electricity through photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) panels. It incorporates seasonal underground heat storage and recovers heat from multiple sources, including wastewater, air-conditioning and industrial processes. Heating and cooling are supplied to the building via a heat pump, while electricity is delivered directly for building use.

Key novelties of the system include a high average annual coefficient of performance (COP) of over 5.5, efficient long-term underground energy storage without performance degradation, the integration of multiple heat sources, and the coupling of sun-tracked PV-T panels and evacuated tube solar collectors with sun-tracking systems to maximise renewable energy yield.

Results

The RESHeat project demonstrated that heating and cooling residential buildings with renewable energy is feasible by combining solar panels, heat pumps and underground energy storage.

The system was tested at three demonstration sites in Poland and Italy, covering buildings constructed in different decades. In Italy, the system was also adapted to provide cooling due to the warmer climate. The demonstrations showed that renewable energy systems can be integrated into existing buildings and operate efficiently throughout the year.

After one year of operation, the system was able in some cases to cover up to 90 % of a building’s annual heat demand using renewable sources.

The project confirms that renewable-based heating and cooling systems can significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels, in line with EU strategies such as the European Green Deal and the Renovation Wave initiative.

Quotes

“The residential buildings we piloted were built in 1980, 2013 and 2017. We wanted to show that renewable energy systems could be integrated with existing heating systems. These technologies are designed to allow for efficient energy capture during periods of high solar availability. The surplus thermal energy collected in the summer is then stored in underground heat reservoirs and later utilised during the winter season,” according to RESHeat project coordinator Paweł Ocłoń from Cracow University of Technology in Poland.

Links

CORDIS Fact Sheet

Project Website