A Study on Performance Comparison of P2H Systems Applying PCM-Based Hybrid Thermal Storage

When Power-to-Heat (P2H) technology is integrated with Phase Change Material (PCM)-based thermal energy storage, it enables load shifting and peak shaving. This study quantitatively evaluates and compares the performance of P2H systems utilizing air-source, water-source, and ground-source heat pumps integrated with PCM thermal storage for a poultry house in Jeju. Dynamic simulations were conducted using TRNSYS, incorporating an empirically validated PCM tank performance model derived from previous thermal response analyses. The water-source heat pump system exhibited the best overall performance, with daily average coefficients of performance (COPs) of 3.0 for heating and 4.8 for cooling, and corresponding system-level energy consumption of 113.2 kWh and 62.4 kWh, respectively. The air-source heat pump displayed the lowest COPs, at 2.4 for heating and 2.3 for cooling, with system energy consumption of 107.2 kWh and 84.5 kWh. The ground-source heat pump system achieved the highest cooling COP of 5.1 and a relatively high heating COP of 3.1, with system energy consumption of 112.2 kWh for heating and 82.2 kWh for cooling. Although the ground-source heat pump demonstrated superior efficiency in HP-only performance, its total energy use increased due to additional circulation pump loads. The PCM-based storage tank exhibited significantly enhanced thermal storage capacity—69.0 MJ for heating and 55.0 MJ for cooling—approximately twice that of a conventional water storage tank, which has capacities of 32.5 MJ for heating and 27.7 MJ for cooling, thereby contributing to peak load reduction