Heat Pumps as Part of the Energy System

Energy system analyses at Fraunhofer ISE highlight the role of heat pumps in a sector-coupled energy system, at both a local and a national level. The steadily growing share of renewable energies in the power grid means that, in the future, heat pumps will draw a large part of their energy supply from renewable sources. Fraunhofer ISE’s energy system analyses make it possible for clients to assess interactions with the energy system at the regional and national level. The buildings of the future will be able to adapt flexibly to the needs of renewable energy generation when they are integrated into the power grid. This opens up new business models for suppliers, grid operators and system operators.

At Fraunhofer ISE, we develop and test tools and concepts to optimize the integration of heat pumps into the power system of the future. These include local energy management systems to optimize the integration of heat pumps, PV battery systems and e-mobility, the development of standardized communication solutions, and energy system studies. We also develop solutions for the operation of large-scale “heat pump pools” in the electricity market as well as software for decentralized peer-to-peer operation in distribution grids. To this end, we create innovative operations management systems on the basis of model predictive or agent-based control strategies. The control system designs draw on annual simulations with a high time resolution. The heat pump systems are then optimized for real-world operating conditions using hardware-in-theloop tests.