Comparison of energy performance of simulated and measured heat pump systems in existing multi-family residential buildings

More advanced and versatile simulation tools are required to reliably simulate the dynamic operation and performance of modern heat pump and other renewable energy production systems as a part of dynamic energy simulation of buildings to meet the requirements of the recast EPBD. The paper presents a comparison of energy performance between simulated and real installed heat pump systems with measured field-data. The simulated heat pump systems were modelled accurately and in detail by using the new IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA ICE) Early Stage Building Optimization (ESBO) Plant model, calibrated by using real manufacturer product data and simulated as a part of dynamic energy simulation of two case study buildings located in cold Finnish climate. The studied heat pump systems included an air-to-water heat pump system (case building 1) and a ground source heat pump system (case building 2) installed in multi-family residential buildings. The error margins of the simulated systems were -9.6...-13.7 % with the A2WHP system and +1.0 % with the GSHP system, showing good consistency and accuracy with the real installed systems. Both the simulation results and the measured performance data of the case studies indicated that the installation principle of the heat pump system has a relatively significant impact on the operation and on the energy efficiency of the system. The results of the study demonstrated that the studied dynamic simulation tool is an accurate and reliable method to simulate the energy performance of the modern variable condensing heat pump systems operating in cold climate conditions.