Seasonal Performance and Potential of Heat Pumps in Catalonia

As heat pumps are meant to play a crucial role in the decarbonisation of heating and cooling, it is important to have a clear knowledge about their seasonal efficiency. The current standards in force base their calculation of the seasonal efficiency on values of the efficiency obtained in different static configurations, but do not take into account the dynamics that take place in real operation. In this work, four different methods are used to calculate the seasonal efficiency, using annual dynamic simulations, series of laboratory experiments with a real heat pump, and simplified calculations. This paper implements these methods to residential buildings in different scenarios that are representative of the climates of Catalonia. The strengths and weaknesses of each method are discussed and compared.