Comparing collective air-source and collective ground-source heat pumps in fully integrated, optimally controlled residential micro energy communities

This paper compares the performances of a collective Air-Source Heat Pump (ASHP) and a collective Ground-Source Heat Pump (GSHP) in a micro energy community through simulations. The study quantifies the additional cost (incl. CAPEX and OPEX) for a GSHP system per tonne of additional CO2 emission reduction.

To ensure a holistic analysis, all residential energy services are included, detailed physics-based models are used, and an optimal controller, acting as the system integrator, is implemented. Although the GSHP system achieves a 19% reduction in both operational CO2 emissions and OPEX, the cost for each extra tonne of CO2 emission reduction is €19850, compared to the ASHP system.