A comparative life cycle assessment of solar combined cooling, heating, and power systems based on RESHeat technology

Switching to renewable energy is key to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from building energy systems. The Renewable Energy System for Residential Building Heating and Electricity Production (RESHeat) uses solar irradiation, integrating underground thermal energy storage and high-performance heat pumps. This is a new system ongoing prototype demonstration, and its environmental impact has to be evaluated on a life-cycle basis. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the monthly and annual environmental impacts of RESHeat systems in Limanowa and Cracow, comparing them with traditional gas boilers and Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power system (CCHP) systems. Compared to traditional gas boilers, global warming and fossil resource scarcity are reduced by exceeding 60%. In the end-of-life of systems, reuse decreases mineral resource scarcity by 38.73% in Limanowa and 32.31% in Cracow. The RESHeat systems show significant environmental impacts in December and January for high heating demands. Compact energy systems for small building areas help to reduce environmental impacts. Future work will investigate the optimisation of the system operation, identify the significance of the tracked environmental impact and establish a standard functional unit to ensure comparability.