A comparative sustainability analysis of heat pump technologies integrated with electricity generation alternatives

Abstract

Heating accounts for more than half of worldwide energy consumption, heat pump technologies (HPTs) are crucial to promoting sustainability due to their better energy efficiency. This study uses a 3E (energy, economic, environmental) approach based on entropy-weighted TOPSIS ranking to provide a thorough sustainability assessment of HPTs integrated with electricity generation technologies (EGTs) such as solar photovoltaic, wind, hydro, nuclear, and hydrogen fuel cell. Simulations included 28 HPT variants with five refrigerants and various capacities. The results showed that water-source HPTs outperformed ground- and air-source systems, with the water source-air cooled R32 system receiving the greatest sustainability performance with a proximity coefficient (C∗) score of 0.91. Among EGTs, hydrogen fuel cells had the best sustainability profile, having a C∗ of 0.94, owing to their zero operational emissions despite higher prices. Overall, using hydrogen fuel cell-powered water source air-cooled HPTs resulted in the most sustainable heating configuration, emphasizing the importance of refrigerant selection, heat pump type, and electricity supply option. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.