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2015
Book Article
Titel
Performance and its assessment
Abstract
For a transparent performance assessment of any energy conversion system, clear definitions of system boundaries for energy balancing and performance figures are essential. This chapter proposes a set of system boundaries and performance figures for the energetic and environmental performance evaluation of solar and heat pump (SHP) systems. Given definitions, however, can principally be applied on any system providing heating, cooling, and domestic hot water (DHW), thus providing a basis for transparent comparisons among different technologies. The chapter discusses and presents different performance figures for heat pumps and solar thermal collectors and systems. For a transparent energy balancing of an SHP system, especially for the evaluation of its impact on the environment due to the usage of locally available energy sources, knowledge about the energy supply chain from the used natural resources to the electricity plug or gas meter on site is needed.