Energy storage and economic analysis of a clean energy heat pump heating system pipe network

A thermal quality-flow regulation based pipe network energy storage scheme is proposed, which achieves energy storage by improving the average water temperature in the primary network. Meanwhile, the heat extraction from the secondary network side is monitored, and the secondary network flow rate is regulated to maintain relatively stable terminal water supply temperature. The operational conditions are specified, and the control strategy is investigated. Taking an actual project as an example, the energy consumption characteristics and energy storage features of this scheme are discussed, with further analysis on its operational economy. The study shows that when considering 70% of the maximum designed heat dissipation capacity at terminal units, the achievable temperature difference for network energy storage reaches 18.69 ℃, enabling complete off-peak operation for 6.08 hours and yielding 15.8% operational cost savings. The pipe network energy storage demonstrates high economic benefits and energy efficiency, representing a significant development direction for clean energy heat pump heating systems in the future.