Evaluating the Energy and Economic Impacts of a Geothermal Heat Pump Installation in Italy

During the past years, the need to reduce the consumption of finite resources and mitigate climate change has progressively increased. The building sector is responsible for a substantial portion of energy consumption and emissions. Therefore, the European Union (EU) aims to reduce the energy consumption of existing buildings and achieve climate neutrality. Several national and international programs have been activated to promote energy-saving interventions in the building sector. Researchers have also directed their attention towards energy efficiency initiatives for buildings, especially for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC). However, many works on HVAC focus on improving existing systems through control and management, along with mainly considering energy aspects. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the benefits arising from the replacement of a gas-based thermal plant with a geothermal multiuse heat pump, able to simultaneously and independently produce hot and cold water. The intervention is examined from both an energy and economic perspective. The analysis depicts a reduction in energy consumptions and costs thanks to the intervention. This study could assist energy building managers as a preliminary analysis to evaluate potential energy-saving investments.