Sun coupled innovative Heat pumps

Project Information

SunHorizon

Grant agreement ID: 818329

DOI

10.3030/818329

Project closed

EC signature date 26 September 2018

Start date 1 October 2018

End date 30 September 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 11 604 927,79

EU contribution

€ 8 999 815,38

Coordinated by

RINA CONSULTING SPA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SunHorizon (Sun coupled innovative Heat pumps)

Reporting period: 2021-10-01 to 2023-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Despite the huge primary energy consumption associated with heating and cooling (H&C) demand in EU building stock, the share of installed renewable H&C solutions is still marginal (i.e. 5%). In order to speed up a transition towards the widespread application of renewable H&C in buildings, innovative solutions must be designed to compete against traditional solutions. In this framework, SunHorizon project aims to unlock the potential for a user-friendly and cost-effective solution based on an optimized design and combination of commercial innovative solar technologies and Heat Pumps (HP). SunHorizon project scope is to demonstrate innovative and reliable HP solutions (thermal compression, adsorption, reversible) which, properly coupled and managed with advanced solar panels (thermal, PVT, PV), provide H&C to residential and tertiary building with lower emissions, energy bills and fossil fuel dependency. Four different TPs are being developed and demonstrated all across EU climates (i.e. Germany, Spain, Belgium and Latvia) and building typologies (small and large-scale residential and tertiary buildings). Cloud based functional monitoring platform will be implemented as well in order to: i) be the “performance data mine” for the development of Data Driven/KPI oriented optimized algorithms and tools for predictive maintenance; ii) optimize the management towards maximisation of solar exploitation; iii) give to the manufacturer inputs for enhancing the design of their components.
Cross-cutting activities among the demo are devoted to solve technical, organizational, legal, regulatory and market-related issues and to evaluate solutions from the economic and business points of view.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

From month 37 onwards, the SunHorizon project primarily concentrated on key activities, including the establishment of connections and database structures in the iSCAN software for the Riga Sunisi and Sant Cugat demo sites. These connections were successfully tested and validated. A machine learning-based model for predicting occupant comfort was trained and validated. Services to fill data gaps were defined to enhance data quality for models, and algorithms for short-term temperature forecasting in rooms were developed. Communication tests between various modules were conducted and demonstrated in a real case scenario. The technological and economic feasibility of SunHorizon products throughout all project phases was demonstrated, accompanied by guidelines for optimal integration of products into buildings to maximize renewable energy penetration. The project results were disseminated through ad hoc events, digital activities, scientific publications, and published project newsletters. Relevance and potential of KERs was assessed in relation to market demand, technical feasibility, and alignment with project goals. Characterization tables were used to define the overall intellectual property management process and develop the exploitation strategy. KER characterization was an ongoing activity conducted collaboratively with KER Leaders throughout the project, involving various phases from project initiation to the project's end. An Exploitation Checklist was designed to understand how KER Leaders intended to exploit the results, including timing and cost/revenues associated with these actions. The checklist offered customizable recommendations to be tailored to specific project outcomes. KER Leaders used this checklist to outline steps and strategies for exploiting KERs, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning, focus, resource allocation, and motivation.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

According to the main topic of the project, SunHorizon will produce a significant impact in the energy efficiency of buildings. The engagement of different kinds of buildings increases the replication potential and the impacts of the project representing in the most comprehensive way the whole EU building stock. In this framework, each demonstrator aims to demonstrate affordable and cost-effective solutions in the context to increase the percentage of heating and cooling demand via renewable energy sources as well as innovative control approaches and optimized H&C components will contribute to significantly increase the energy savings. As for the selection of the SunHorizon H&C technology packages, the criteria of low cost, simple installation, low maintenance and large market potential have been followed. Despite three demo sites (Berlin, Cluj Napoca and Neuremberg) had to withdraw from the project, due to serious economic reasons of the technology provider, the results of the on-going demo sites show both a reduction in GHG emissions and in the energy bills, accompanied by significant energy savings.

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