The Horizon 2020 project SunHorizon was launched to optimize solar-assisted heat pump systems in residential and commercial buildings. One of the objectives is to facilitate data optimization with a cloud-based monitoring platform. The project will run until 2022 and be applied in eight demo sites in Europe. Four different technology concepts will be tested:

1. Parallel integration of heat pump and solar (solar used for space heating and hot water, with heat pump covering periods of no sunshine)
2. Combination of solar-assisted and parallel integration (PVT thermal output meets as much heat demand as possible and surplus electricity powers appliances)
3. Solar-driven heat pump for cooling (solar used for space heating and hot water in winter and thermal compressor operated in summer)
4. Parallel integration of solar and heat pump (PVT thermal output meets some demand for space heating and hot water and PVT provides electricity for reversible heat pump)

Example of a demo site: Link

The Sant Cugat building in Spain is a municipal facility for cultural events and public activities. The new installations are expected to have a positive impact on GHG emission savings and primary-energy savings. The demonstration started in 2019.

Collectors: hybrid solar thermal panels (TVP Solar SA)

Other energy sources: hybrid adsorption-compression chiller (Fahrenheit Gmbh)

Storage: stratified thermal storage tank (Ratiotherm Heizung + Solartechnik Gmbh & Co. KG)

Link