Leveraging Solar PV and Storage for Deep Decarbonization of Residential Heating Systems

Abstract

Recent studies analyze the carbon footprint of residential heating and propose transitioning to electric heat pumps as an important step towards decarbonization. Electric heat pumps are more energy-efficient than gas furnaces and use electric grid power. However, electric grids in most parts of the world are primarily powered by carbon-intensive fossil fuels and may never be completely carbon-free, and widespread usage of heat pumps may trigger expensive upgrades in the electric grid. A low-cost, deep decarbonization of residential heating can be achieved by using co-located solar photovoltaic (PV) systems alongside heat pump retrofits. In this poster, we investigate the problem of sizing solar panels and storage to completely offset the added demand and investigate the tradeoff between cost and carbon emission reduction benefits. Our analysis suggests that co-located solar PV systems can reduce carbon emissions by at least 57.7%.