Optimal selection among different domestic energy consumption patterns based on energy and exergy analysis

In China market, people have many choices for air conditioning of their apartments, including heat-pump systems or gas-fired boilers for heating and air conditioners for cooling. Domestic hot water is usually provided by domestic water heaters making use of electricity or natural gas, which are known for their great energy costs. These systems consume much energy and increase the total cost of required domestic energy. A novel system combining heat pump with water heater is proposed in this paper, and it is named domestic energy system. The system can realize the provision of space heating, cooling and domestic hot water throughout a year. Based on different types of air conditioners, space heating equipments and water heaters, domestic energy consumption patterns are concluded to be eight categories. This study describes and compares the eight domestic energy consumption patterns by economic analysis and prime energy analysis method. Results show that the domestic energy system can provide good economy and save energy significantly. Furthermore, exergy analysis method is employed to compare the exergy efficiencies of different energy consumption systems. The results show that the domestic energy system has the highest energy conversion efficiency and can make remarkable contribution to social energy saving.