Determining a heat pump's yearly energy output

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around estimating the yearly energy output of an air to water heat pump installed for room heating in a building. Participants explore how to account for varying outdoor temperatures and other factors influencing energy needs, including insulation quality and heat loss calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • The original poster (OP) seeks guidance on estimating how much of the building's yearly energy need (80,000 kWh) the heat pump will cover, given the outdoor temperature variations from -15 to +20°C.
  • Some participants suggest that the quality of building insulation and door types significantly affect energy needs, prompting a request for more information on insulation.
  • A participant outlines a basic procedure for estimating energy needs, including calculating heat loss at the design temperature, internal heat gain, and the heat provided by the heat pump across varying temperatures.
  • Another participant questions the OP's assumption that the heat pump will not cover the entire energy need, suggesting that it could potentially provide all the required heat.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether the heat pump can meet the entire energy requirement. While some provide procedural steps for estimation, others challenge the OP's assumptions, indicating a lack of consensus on the heat pump's capabilities.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the importance of specific variables such as insulation quality and outdoor temperature history, which are not fully resolved or quantified in the conversation.

TSN79
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A building needs a certain amount of energy during a year (kWh) for room heating. An air to water heat pump has been installed to provide heat to a radiator system (55/40°C). How do I go about estimating how much of the yearly energy need the heat pump will cover? What confuses me is that the outside air temperature varies from -15 to +20°C during the year, and I don't know how to consider that variable. Not that I would know what to do if the outside temperature was fixed :frown: Does one usually use some average yearly temperature? Could anyone provide som basic procedures here? Thank you!
 
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TSN79 said:
A building needs a certain amount of energy during a year (kWh) for room heating. An air to water heat pump has been installed to provide heat to a radiator system (55/40°C). How do I go about estimating how much of the yearly energy need the heat pump will cover? What confuses me is that the outside air temperature varies from -15 to +20°C during the year, and I don't know how to consider that variable. Not that I would know what to do if the outside temperature was fixed :frown: Does one usually use some average yearly temperature? Could anyone provide som basic procedures here? Thank you!
The quality of the insulation in the building walls and roof will be a major factor, as well as what kind of doors are used for ingress and egress (assuming no windows get opened). Do you have any information on the building insulation?

I'll page @russ_watters to get a better reply for you...
 
berkeman said:
Do you have any information on the building insulation?
Not really, but that kind of information has gone into a calculation that sombody else has already done, resulting in a total energy need over a year (for room heating) of about 80 000 kWh.
 
A basic procedure:
1) Calculate total heat loss at the outdoor "design temperature", the typical coldest outdoor temperature.
2) Calculate the internal heat gain.
3) The difference is how much heat is needed to heat the building on the coldest day.
4) The OP implies that the heat pump will not provide the amount of heat calculated in step 3. If so, calculate the coldest temperature at which the heat pump will fully heat the building.
5) Find the outdoor temperature history for your area.
6) Calculate the heat required, and the heat provided by the heat pump, for the range of temperatures from the coldest day to coldest temperature at which the heat pump provides 100% of the heat.
7) Add up the results. The total heat from the heat pump, plus the additional heat needed on the coldest days, should add up to about 80,000 kWh. If so, you are done. If not, start over.
 
TSN79 said:
How do I go about estimating how much of the yearly energy need the heat pump will cover?
I don't understand. Why don't you think the answer is simply, "all of it"?
 

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