Large-scale heat pumps (LSHPs) are a crucial technology for decarbonizing both process heat and centralized heat supply through district heating networks. Particularly, district heating networks with maximum supply temperatures below 120 °C provide promising conditions for their use. Initial pilot projects have demonstrated that LSHPs can be successfully integrated into existing systems. However, the high planning effort impedes rapid market uptake, especially due to a lack of knowledge about off-design behavior: In contrast to conventional heaters such as gas boilers or CHP units, LSHPs exhibit significant changes in capacity and efficiency when operated in off-design conditions, which greatly impacts their economic viability.

To address this, the Institute for Energy Eff ...