Heating, ventilation, domestic appliances – An energy integrated system concept for the household of the future

Highlights: • Description of an integrated system concept for low-energy buildings. • Connecting domestic appliances with the heat pump and ventilating system. • Analysis of the system by means of a detailed dynamic simulation model. • The energiBUS system saves approximately 35 kWh/a. • The coefficient of performance increases from 3.3 to 3.5. In order to achieve the targets of the EU climate protection strategy, the household sector with its overall high energy consumption offers great potential for efficiency improvements. Better insulated buildings and efficient heating and ventilation technologies can reduce the demand for energy regarding space heating and cooling. Efficiency improvements in domestic appliances can only be achieved with great effort. This paper presents an innovative system concept in which domestic appliances are thermally connected to the heating and ventilation system via the energiBUS, using a heat pump as the central heating and cooling device. The system benefits from the replacement of internal heating and cooling devices of the respective domestic appliances and the simultaneous utilization of both energy flows – warm and cold – of the heat pump. The system is analyzed by means of a detailed dynamic simulation model using MATLAB/Simulink®. The component models included are experimentally validated and have deviations of less than 5%. The results show that a reduction of 35 kWh/a in total energy consumption is achieved and the COP of the heat pump can be improved from 3.3 to 3.5. In this context, the integrated design of the system control still has potential for optimization.