Impact of Variable Electricity Prices on heat pump operated buildings in the Austrian Building Stock

Abstract

Residential buildings with heat pumps (HP) show promising possibilities for demand-side management (DSM). Further, with the revision of the Renewable Energy Expansion Act [1] and declining prices for photovoltaic (PV) and battery storages, the diffusion of DSM systems may increase in the residential sector in Austria. The cost-optimized operation of such systems can lead to significant cost reduction and at the same time change the electricity consumption of a household. This can especially be the case when a variable price signal is introduced. In this work, we will deal with the following question: How does the volatility of a variable price change the energy consumption of buildings with a smart energy management system (SEMS)? In this context, we also aggregate the findings of individual households to the national level of the Austrian single-family house (SFH) stock.