A Dual-Heat-Pump Residential Heating System for Shaping Electric Utility Load

We present a residential heating system designed specifically to provide electric utilities with a means for achieving intra-hour load shifting. The system couples two heat pumps with a large water tank, which serves as a thermal storage unit. One heat pump uses the water tank as a source and serves residential heating load. The other uses the outdoor air as a source and heats the water tank during favorable weather conditions, thereby improving the efficiency of the first. By aggregating large numbers of such systems distributed throughout its balancing area, a utility may use this resource as a means for achieving load shaping, the intra-hour shifting of generation resources from periods of peak demand to periods of low demand. This paper focuses on the potential for using such an aggregated resource as a technological solution for realizing winter peak demand reduction and overall lower energy consumption, thereby displacing the need for capital investment in peak generation plants. The results of this paper are promising, demonstrating potential savings for both the utility and residential customers.