Heat Pumps for the New Generation of Sustainable Buildings: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Heat pumps are efficient heat generators that can independently meet the thermal demands of buildings for space heating, space cooling, and domestic hot water production through a single device. Moreover, this technology employs a significant share of renewable energy from external sources (e.g., air, water, and ground) and, for this reason, can contribute substantially to achieving the ambitious cuts in greenhouse gas emissions mandated by current policies. For these reasons, it is likely that we will soon see widespread use of heat pumps in buildings to boost the decarbonization of the existing stock.

From a holistic point of view, integrating heat pumps in existing or newly built HVAC systems, developing novel environmentally friendly refrigerants, and optimizing the thermodynamic configurations of heat pumps are among the open challenges that need to be addressed to maximize the exploitation of renewable energy sources. This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances and future perspectives in heat pumps and heat pump applications, thereby providing new insights related to the theory, design, numerical modelling, application, control, and field monitoring of all types of heat pumps.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Research and development on the heat pump thermodynamic cycle;
• New environmentally friendly refrigerants;
• Recent advances in heat pump systems and components;
• Hybrid heat pump systems;
• Integration in smart buildings and district heating/cooling networks;
• Sorption and non-traditional heat pump systems;
• Simulation-assisted design and optimization of heat pumps and heat pump applications.

Dr. Matteo Dongellini
Dr. Claudia Naldi
Guest Editors

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