Upscaling and case study design: Influence on the environmental impact assessment of high-temperature heat pumps using LCA

Existing high-temperature heat pumps were investigated by means of life cycle assessment with thermal outputs of 0.19, 0.66, 1.2 and 10 MW. Scale up was performed linearly, due to a better fit than other methods presented in the literature. It was shown that the electricity consumed during the usage phase has a greater impact in the majority of damage categories rather than manufacturing or the production/leakage of the working fluid. The European grid mix was compared to the French and Spanish one, showing that a lowcarbon power source is vital. Finally, a benchmark with other common steam sources was done in terms of global warming potential, showing the substitution of fossil-based steam sources is the biggest lever when implementing heat pumps for better sustainability.