Techno-economic assessment of solar assisted heat pump system retrofit in the Canadian housing stock

The techno-economic feasibility of retrofitting existing Canadian houses with solar assisted heat pump (SAHP) is investigated. The SAHP architecture is adopted from previous studies conducted for the Canadian climate. The system utilizes two thermal storage tanks to store excess solar energy for use later in the day. The control strategy is defined in order to prioritise the use of solar energy for space and domestic hot water heating purposes. Due to economic and technical constraints a series of eligibility criteria are introduced for a house to qualify for the retrofit. A model was built in ESP-r and the retrofit was introduced into all eligible houses in the Canadian Hybrid Residential End-Use Energy and GHG Emissions model. Simulations were conducted for an entire year to estimate the annual energy savings, and GHG emission reductions. Results show that the SAHP system performance is strongly affected by climatic conditions, auxiliary energy sources and fuel mixture for electricity generation. Energy consumption and GHG emission of the Canadian housing stock can be reduced by about 20% if all eligible houses receive the SAHP system retrofit. Economic analysis indicates that the incentive measures will likely be necessary to promote the SAHP system in the Canadian residential market.