Integrated renewable energy technologies for heating and cooling of buildings

The building sector is currently responsible for around 40% of the final energy consumption in EU, and most of this share is due to space heating and cooling systems. The European Union is thus striving to reduce non-renewable primary energy consumption in this sector, and this implies rethinking buildings and their thermal systems to boost renewable energy exploitation. In this framework, master thesis candidates will study the optimal integration between on-site renewable energy production (e.g. from PV systems) and high efficiency thermal systems (e.g. heat pumps). Based on the time trend of energy needs and renewable energy yield, optimum sizing criteria will be defined in order to maximize the self-consumption rate and minimize costs and environmental impact.