01 March 2024
Annex 56 Digitalization and IoT for Heat Pumps Executive Summary
Digitalization is one of the most important factors for the transformation of energy systems, as it is expected to facilitate the matching of supply and demand in the face of increasing volatility of energy production and contribute significantly to final energy savings and CO2 reductions. Heat pumps are becoming networked devices that can participate in the Internet of Things (IoT). The IEA HPT Annex 56 project analyses the opportunities and challenges of IoT-enabled heat pumps for use in buildings and industrial applications. The project provides a structured overview of IoT-enabled heat pumps and commercial products and services, that was developed in an intensive exchange with experts from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
In total, 44 application examples were analyzed that clearly show that IoT-enabled heat pumps and products based on them are already available on the market. Five categories are assigned to the application examples: Heat pump operation optimization, Predictive Maintenance, Heat pump operation commissioning, Provision of flexibility and Heat as a service. Relevant interfaces, data analysis methods and business models for IoT heat pumps were analyzed. The use of IoT technology and connectivity can enable or significantly improve data exchange, analysis and the services based on it. For the users, this enables operating cost and energy savings and increased operational reliability. For the energy system, the provision of flexibility is of particular importance, as it allows for better integration of fluctuating generation of renewable energy. The exchange and use of data play an essential role.