Simulation of a passive house coupled with a reversible heat pump/organic Rankine cycle unit

This paper presents a dynamic model of a passive house located in Denmark with a large solar absorber, a horizontal ground heat exchanger coupled with a HP/ORC unit. The HP/ORC reversible unit is a module able to work as an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) or as a heat pump (HP). There are 3 possible modes that need to be chosen optimally depending on the weather conditions, the heat demand and the temperature level of the storage. The ORC mode is activated, as long as the heat demand of the house is covered by the storage to produce electricity based upon the heat generated by the solar roof. The direct (free) heating is used when the storage cannot cover the heat demand of the house. Finally, when direct heating is not sufficient to cover the heat demand because of poor weather conditions, the HP mode is activated. Dynamic simulations of the whole system are presented for different typical days of the year in the Modelica language. A peak of 3.28 kW of power is reached in ORC mode with a heat input of 59.5 kW from the solar roof (23.9 kWh are produced during a typical summer day). In a representative winter day, 17.28 kWh are consumed by the heat pump with a daily average COP of 4.1. Conclusions regarding control strategies and enhancement of the global system are drawn. A control strategy with a low storage temperature set-point (50˚C) allows reducing electrical consumption from 11% up to 24% when compared to higher set-point (60˚C). The system performance to produce power could also be optimized if an extra tank is included to store heat uniquely to produce electricity with the ORC during the peak electricity consumption. Finally, this technology is a promising way to achieve Net Zero Energy Building at low price compared to competitive products (heat pump combined with PV for example). The system presents a higher global COP because the heat produced on the roof can heat the storage directly.