Air-to-water heat pumps, borehole heat exchangers, groundwater wells, geothermal collectors, geothermal energy piles, ice storage tanks, and more: the market for the exploitation of various heat sources offers numerous possibilities.

However, there is not much choice in terms of scientifically substantiated modes of comparison for choosing the most suitable heat transfer system in combination with a particular heat source for a specific situation. Therefore, in the three-year research project future: heatpump, Technische Universität Braunschweig ‒ in collaboration with seven project partners from the industry ‒ has developed a tool which will offer support to planners and architects in the initial planning stage: the Excel-based WPSource distinguishes between heat sources, heat exchanger systems and types of buildings, and permits both an energy and an economic evaluation of various solutions.

WPSOURCE is the result of a seven-phase research process. Model plants and concepts were initially developed based on extensive system and market research of currently available heat transfer systems in the low-temperature segment. After monitoring various plants, simulations were created based on different energy sources and a holistic view of the concepts was taken. Following the technical and energetic evaluation of the different systems, an economic evaluation was also undertaken.

The tool WPSOURCE is expected to be available from September 2018.