Development and optimization of an energy saving strategy for social housing applications by water source-heat pump integrating photovoltaic-thermal panels

Residential buildings account for 84% of Italy's built environment, playing a pivotal role in the EU's aim to cut GHG emissions by 55% through enhanced energy efficiency and climate adaptation. This necessitates comprehensive energy retrofit initiatives, especially in sectors like social housing, which has been relatively overlooked in terms of energy efficiency strategies. This study focuses on a multi-story building from the 1980s in Rome, implementing an innovative energy system proposed by the RESHeat European project. This system, aimed at standardizing energy retrofits for late 20th-century social housing, leverages the underexplored potential of water-source heat pump (WSHP) systems. The novelty of this research extends to its examination of multi-family housing, a sector that has seen less attention compared to public spaces and smaller residential buildings. Through experimental validation and annual dynamic simulations using TRNSYS and Simulink, the research compares the existing heating system with a proposed upgrade that includes a WSHP and Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) panels. This upgrade demonstrated a significant efficiency improvement, achieving an annual COP of 6.1 for the WSHP and a 36% Primary Energy Savings (PES) from the PVT panels, showcasing the effectiveness of these technologies in enhancing the energy profile of multi-family residential buildings.