Smart meter enabled control for variable speed heat pumps to increase PV self-consumption.

In the last five years the costs of photovoltaic systems have decreased considerably making it economically attractive to generate electricity locally. In many countries, self-consumption is the most attractive option to make use of the generated electricity. Variable speed heat pumps – if controlled properly – can take a share of the PV electricity to decrease costs and CO2 emissions for heat generation and increase PV self-consumption. This paper discusses a control strategy that uses real-time smart meter readings and adjusts the compressor speed to adapt heat pump electricity consumption depending on the available PV power. The approach is tested in a detailed building simulation. Self-consumption can be increased by 6% compared to a heat driven control. For the chosen PV size of 10kWp in a German multi-family house, an increase of storage size shows only little possibility for a further increase in self-consumption.