Plus-energy home
A plus-energy home with positive annual balance is a building that gains more energy in and on the building than it takes from the outside, f. e.
electricity, oil, gas or wood. These energy standards can generally be achieved by each type of building, both a renovated old building and a passive
house. Necessary is only the use of solar energy, e.g. by a solar thermal system for DHW and back-up heating and a PV system for generating electricity.
On the way to a plus-energy home the heat pump can also make a considerable contribution since it also makes use of solar energy and turns it into heat to release it into the heating system. A building’s energy demand of power and heat is depending on the buildings standards and the applied technology, thus the requirements differ from building to building. Due to a clever combination of versatile energy sources a mixture of energy is created which is able to cover the complete energy requirements and to feed the surplus of power from an existing PV system into the local network.
The above diagram displays how a mixture of energy could be created by the application of different energy generating technologies.
Initial situation: at the beginning the heat demand is mostly covered by a oil or gas boiler.-
This oil or gas boiler is now replaced by a heat pump. The heat pump extracts heat from the ambient air and gives it to the heating system. The energy input for the heat generation in proportion to the energy output is approx. 25%, thus the total power consumption is increased about the power demand that is necessary for the operation of the heat pump. According to this the oil/gas consumption is omitted.
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By installing a solar thermal system the heat pump is supported by the provision of DHW and heating water, thus power is saved.
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The now remaining power demand can be generated by a photovoltaic system. Even a surplus of power can be generated when the PV system is dimensioned appropriately.
Your way to energetical self-sufficiency
Air/water heat pump particularly poke out of the heat pump family due to the price-performance ratio. Low investment costs and lile installation effort guarantee a cost-effective heating system.
Pay attention to the acquisition of a high efficient system and to the serviceability and operating life of all system components! The solar thermal system is able to make its contribution to cover the heat demands of your home, especially in times of high energy requirements (cold outside temperatures), because there often is a clear cloudless sky with cold outside temperatures. When it is cloudy and foggy you rather have ideal conditions for air/water heat pumps. With this system you have a perfect price-performance ratio.
The installation of a photovoltaic system is a perfect supplementation of the first two steps. Your home will almost be turned into a zero energy home concerning the annual energy balance. When it is well dimensioned you even can achieve a surplus of energy. You provide your own energy and may be able to feed the surplus into the local power network.
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