Publication date:
2019/04/16
The system, which allows family houses to use more than 80 percent of the required energy from renewable sources, was jointly developed by scientists from the University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings at CTU in Prague and Regulus heating experts. The system for supplying the building with heat, cold and electricity combines a heat pump, photovoltaic panels and a seasonal accumulator located under the foundations of the house.
The system makes maximum use of photovoltaic electricity. If enough is produced, the heat pump starts to draw heat from the environment and heats the heat storage tank and stores the excess heat in the ground tank without using a conventional power grid.
The high energy self-sufficiency of such buildings reduces the economic return rate. The new system could also reduce the use of non-renewable primary energy below 20 kilowatt hours per square meter per year, which researchers say is about a third of the energy performance of Czech homes.