Reducing Heat Pump Electricity Consumption in Winter
Hardware & Software
Problem
During winter operation (ambient temperatures below 0 °C), the ground source heat pump consistently consumed over 50 kWh per day.
This level of consumption had a noticeable impact on the electricity bill and was not aligned with:
- the building’s actual heat demand,
- the thermal inertia of the ground loop,
- or efficient compressor operation.
The system was running on mostly default, conservative settings with no fine-grained control over priorities and schedules.
Context
- Heat pump: NIBE F1145 (ground source)
- Heating system: Low-temperature floor heating
- Season: Winter
- Monitoring: SolarEdge consumption data
- Scope: Configuration only — no hardware changes
This log documents a real production system, not a lab setup or simulation.
High-level solution
The reduction in energy consumption was achieved by tuning four key areas:
1. Heating (SH) and DHW Scheduling - big impact
- Explicit schedules were added for:
- space heating (SH)
- domestic hot water (DHW)
2. Degree Minutes Optimization - medium impact
- Degree-minute behavior was adjusted to reduce short cycling
- The compressor now runs longer, more efficient cycles
3. SH vs DHW Runtime Balance - big impact
- Runtime proportions between heating and hot water were changed
- DHW reheating no longer aggressively interrupts space heating in winter
4. Heating Curve Correction - small impact
- The heating curve was tuned to match the real heat demand of the building
- Over-heating and excess compressor load were reduced
Outcome
The configuration changes were applied on January 26.
This section evaluates their impact using real electricity consumption data and outdoor temperature data from the heat pump itself, ensuring consistent and comparable measurements.
1. Raw Consumption Overview (Timeline)
Daily electricity consumption data from SolarEdge shows:
-
January (before optimization):
- Typical daily consumption: 45–55 kWh
- Multiple days exceeding 50 kWh, even at moderate winter temperatures
-
Late January (immediately after optimization):
- Short-term reduction in daily consumption
- Several days in the 40–45 kWh range
-
February (after optimization, very cold period):
- Daily consumption often again exceeded 50 kWh
- This coincided with significantly lower outdoor temperatures, including periods below -10°C and down to approximately -15°C
📈 Consumption timeline (SolarEdge):
2. Weather Context
Outdoor temperature data used in this analysis comes directly from the outdoor temperature sensor of the NIBE F1145 PC heat pump.
This ensures:
- consistent sensor placement,
- direct relevance to heat pump control logic,
- and no discrepancies caused by external weather services.
Temperature data shows that February was substantially colder than January.
🌡 Outdoor temperature timeline (NIBE F1145 PC):
3. Consumption vs Outdoor Temperature (Key Result)
To account for weather differences, electricity consumption was analyzed relative to outdoor temperature measured by the heat pump itself, rather than by calendar date.
The comparison shows that:
-
Before optimization (January):
- ~50–55 kWh/day occurred already at -2 to -5°C
-
After optimization (February):
- Similar consumption levels (~50–55 kWh/day) occurred only at much lower temperatures, typically -8 to -14°C
This indicates a clear efficiency shift.
📊 Consumption vs temperature (before vs after):
4. Comparative Table
| Daily Consumption | Before Optimization (January) | After Optimization (February) | Temperature Shift |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~48 kWh | approx. -1°C | approx. -7°C | -6°C |
| ~50 kWh | approx. -2 / -3°C | approx. -8 / -9°C | -6 to -7°C |
| ~52 kWh | approx. -4°C | approx. -10°C | -6°C |
| ~54–55 kWh | approx. -5°C | approx. -13 to -14°C | -8 to -9°C |
5. Interpretation
The data supports the following conclusions:
- The optimization did not eliminate high consumption during extreme cold, which would be physically unrealistic.
- However, it reduced internal inefficiencies, such as:
- over-heating,
- excessive cycling,
- and conflicts between space heating and DHW.
- As a result, the system now delivers comparable thermal output at much lower outdoor temperatures without a proportional increase in electricity usage.
6. Summary
- Similar electricity consumption levels now correspond to 6–9°C lower outdoor temperatures
- This confirms a structural efficiency improvement
- Weather remains the dominant factor, but its impact on electricity usage has been reduced
- All results are based on real production data from:
- SolarEdge (electricity consumption)
- NIBE F1145 PC (outdoor temperature)
Further quantification would require normalization using heating degree days (HDD), but the available evidence already confirms a positive effect of the configuration changes.
Unlock technical details (10€)
This is not theory.
By unlocking the paid details, you get:
- Proven settings that reduced winter consumption by ~20%+
- Exact parameters, not guesses
- A configuration that can be reproduced on similar systems
- Saved time, experimentation, and risk
If your heat pump runs on default settings, you are almost certainly overpaying for electricity — especially in winter.
This log shows what actually works.
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