IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v399y2025ics0306261925012413.html

Comparative analysis of heating and cooling solutions for residential use: Energy, environmental, and economic perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Kurses, Mustafa
  • Olympios, Andreas V.
  • Harraz, Asmaa A.
  • Xu, Jingyuan

Abstract

This paper examines the techno-economic performance of domestic heating and cooling technologies across different climates. The novelty lies in the comprehensive assessment of a broad range of technological options using advanced thermodynamic and component-costing models. A holistic, like-for-like comparison is conducted for combinations of technologies that meet all residential energy needs – space heating, domestic hot water, space cooling, and electricity. Nine different system combinations are proposed, including natural gas boilers, photovoltaic systems, photovoltaic-thermal systems, solar thermal collectors, hydrogen boilers, air-to-water heat pumps, diffusion absorption refrigeration systems, and air-to-air air conditioners. These are analyzed for a typical single-family house under three distinct European climates: Athens (Greece), Strasbourg (France), and Helsinki (Finland), focusing on energy, economic, and environmental factors. From an economic perspective, the integrated photovoltaic - heat pump system configuration consistently has the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) across all locations, ranging from 0.15 €/kWh in Athens to 0.20 €/kWh in Strasbourg. The photovoltaic-thermal – heat pump system configuration follows with a slightly higher LCOE than the photovoltaic – heat pump system (by 0.05–0.06 €/kWh) due to its higher initial costs. In general, solar integrated systems have an LCOE that is 0.10–0.20 €/kWh lower compared to the same systems that do not use solar energy. The payback time for the photovoltaic – heat pump system ranges from 4.65 years in Finland to 8.95 years in Greece. Standalone heat pump cost savings vary significantly and are lowest in Athens (403 €/year) and highest in Helsinki (2560 €/year) when compared to gas boilers, influenced by the regional electricity-gas price ratio, which is higher in Greece. However, photovoltaic and photovoltaic-thermal systems achieve a higher emission reduction in Athens (e.g., 4.70 tons of CO2,eq/year for the photovoltaic – heat pump system), due to the carbon-intensive grid of Greece. Although hydrogen boilers show a high emission reduction in Strasbourg and Helsinki (4.27 tons of CO2,eq/year), they exhibit higher LCOE than other systems (> 0.60 €/kWh), with their future viability depending on green hydrogen production costs. Overall, this study provides insights into residential energy systems across diverse climates, highlighting the importance of context-specific technology choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Kurses, Mustafa & Olympios, Andreas V. & Harraz, Asmaa A. & Xu, Jingyuan, 2025. "Comparative analysis of heating and cooling solutions for residential use: Energy, environmental, and economic perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 399(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:399:y:2025:i:c:s0306261925012413
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126511
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261925012413
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126511?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Byrne, John & Taminiau, Job & Kurdgelashvili, Lado & Kim, Kyung Nam, 2015. "A review of the solar city concept and methods to assess rooftop solar electric potential, with an illustrative application to the city of Seoul," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 830-844.
    2. Hannes Koch & Stefan Lechner & Sebastian Erdmann & Martin Hofmann, 2022. "Assessing the Potential of Rooftop Photovoltaics by Processing High-Resolution Irradiation Data, as Applied to Giessen, Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Bódis, Katalin & Kougias, Ioannis & Jäger-Waldau, Arnulf & Taylor, Nigel & Szabó, Sándor, 2019. "A high-resolution geospatial assessment of the rooftop solar photovoltaic potential in the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Panagiotidou, Maria & Aye, Lu & Rismanchi, Behzad, 2020. "Solar driven water heating systems for medium-rise residential buildings in urban mediterranean areas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 556-569.
    5. Baby-Jean Robert Mungyeko Bisulandu & Rami Mansouri & Adrian Ilinca, 2023. "Diffusion Absorption Refrigeration Systems: An Overview of Thermal Mechanisms and Models," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-36, April.
    6. Khorasaninejad, Ehsan & Hajabdollahi, Hassan, 2014. "Thermo-economic and environmental optimization of solar assisted heat pump by using multi-objective particle swam algorithm," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 680-690.
    7. Ala, G. & Orioli, A. & Di Gangi, A., 2019. "Energy and economic analysis of air-to-air heat pumps as an alternative to domestic gas boiler heating systems in the South of Italy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 59-74.
    8. Poppi, Stefano & Sommerfeldt, Nelson & Bales, Chris & Madani, Hatef & Lundqvist, Per, 2018. "Techno-economic review of solar heat pump systems for residential heating applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 22-32.
    9. Herrando, María & Markides, Christos N. & Hellgardt, Klaus, 2014. "A UK-based assessment of hybrid PV and solar-thermal systems for domestic heating and power: System performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 288-309.
    10. Nejc Klopčič & Thomas Stöhr & Ilena Grimmer & Markus Sartory & Alexander Trattner, 2022. "Refurbishment of Natural Gas Pipelines towards 100% Hydrogen—A Thermodynamic-Based Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-23, December.
    11. Wang, Kai & Herrando, María & Pantaleo, Antonio M. & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "Technoeconomic assessments of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal vs. conventional solar-energy systems: Case studies in heat and power provision to sports centres," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    12. Olympios, Andreas V. & Pantaleo, Antonio M. & Sapin, Paul & Markides, Christos N., 2020. "On the value of combined heat and power (CHP) systems and heat pumps incentralised and distributed heating systems: Lessons from multi-fidelitymodelling approaches," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    13. Herrando, María & Ramos, Alba & Zabalza, Ignacio & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "A comprehensive assessment of alternative absorber-exchanger designs for hybrid PVT-water collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1583-1602.
    14. Herrando, María & Markides, Christos N., 2016. "Hybrid PV and solar-thermal systems for domestic heat and power provision in the UK: Techno-economic considerations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 512-532.
    15. Yang, Ying & Campana, Pietro Elia & Stridh, Bengt & Yan, Jinyue, 2020. "Potential analysis of roof-mounted solar photovoltaics in Sweden," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Arnesson, Hugo & Olympios, Andreas V. & Harraz, Asmaa A. & Xu, Jingyuan, 2025. "Comprehensive energy, economic, and environmental analysis of a hybrid photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) heat pump system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    2. María Herrando & Alba Ramos, 2022. "Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) Systems for Combined Cooling, Heating and Power in Buildings: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-28, April.
    3. Huang, Gan & Wang, Kai & Curt, Sara Riera & Franchetti, Benjamin & Pesmazoglou, Ioannis & Markides, Christos N., 2021. "On the performance of concentrating fluid-based spectral-splitting hybrid PV-thermal (PV-T) solar collectors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 590-605.
    4. Guarracino, Ilaria & Freeman, James & Ramos, Alba & Kalogirou, Soteris A. & Ekins-Daukes, Nicholas J. & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "Systematic testing of hybrid PV-thermal (PVT) solar collectors in steady-state and dynamic outdoor conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 1014-1030.
    5. Wang, Kai & Pantaleo, Antonio M. & Herrando, María & Faccia, Michele & Pesmazoglou, Ioannis & Franchetti, Benjamin M. & Markides, Christos N., 2020. "Spectral-splitting hybrid PV-thermal (PVT) systems for combined heat and power provision to dairy farms," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1047-1065.
    6. V. Tirupati Rao & Y. Raja Sekhar, 2023. "Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PVT) Collector Systems With Different Absorber Configurations For Thermal Management – A Review," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(3), pages 690-735, May.
    7. Han, Haoyu & Kurses, Mustafa & Harraz, Asmaa A. & Xu, Jingyuan, 2025. "Comparative study of PV, PVT, and solar thermal systems for residential applications in Europe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    8. Herrando, María & Pantaleo, Antonio M. & Wang, Kai & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "Solar combined cooling, heating and power systems based on hybrid PVT, PV or solar-thermal collectors for building applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 637-647.
    9. Gassar, Abdo Abdullah Ahmed & Cha, Seung Hyun, 2021. "Review of geographic information systems-based rooftop solar photovoltaic potential estimation approaches at urban scales," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    10. Wang, Kai & Herrando, María & Pantaleo, Antonio M. & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "Technoeconomic assessments of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal vs. conventional solar-energy systems: Case studies in heat and power provision to sports centres," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    11. Drozd, Paweł & Kapica, Jacek & Jurasz, Jakub & Dąbek, Paweł, 2025. "Evaluating cities' solar potential using geographic information systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    12. Aslani, Mohammad & Seipel, Stefan, 2022. "Automatic identification of utilizable rooftop areas in digital surface models for photovoltaics potential assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PA).
    13. Formolli, M. & Kleiven, T. & Lobaccaro, G., 2023. "Assessing solar energy accessibility at high latitudes: A systematic review of urban spatial domains, metrics, and parameters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    14. Herrando, María & Ramos, Alba & Zabalza, Ignacio & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "A comprehensive assessment of alternative absorber-exchanger designs for hybrid PVT-water collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1583-1602.
    15. Lamnatou, Chr. & Chemisana, D., 2017. "Photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) systems: A review with emphasis on environmental issues," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 270-287.
    16. Guglielmina Mutani & Valeria Todeschi, 2021. "Optimization of Costs and Self-Sufficiency for Roof Integrated Photovoltaic Technologies on Residential Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-25, July.
    17. Gómez-Navarro, Tomás & Brazzini, Tommaso & Alfonso-Solar, David & Vargas-Salgado, Carlos, 2021. "Analysis of the potential for PV rooftop prosumer production: Technical, economic and environmental assessment for the city of Valencia (Spain)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 372-381.
    18. Ahmad, Lujean & Khordehgah, Navid & Malinauskaite, Jurgita & Jouhara, Hussam, 2020. "Recent advances and applications of solar photovoltaics and thermal technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    19. Min-Hwi Kim & Deuk-Won Kim & Dong-Won Lee, 2021. "Feasibility of Low Carbon Renewable Energy City Integrated with Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-24, November.
    20. Ben Seddik, Z. & Ben Taher, M.A. & Laknizi, A. & Ahachad, M. & Bahraoui, F. & Mahdaoui, M., 2022. "Hybridization of Taguchi method and genetic algorithm to optimize a PVT in different Moroccan climatic zones," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:399:y:2025:i:c:s0306261925012413. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.