Heat Pumps Paired With Thermal Storage Show Promise

Penn State researchers modeled whether storing heat ahead of cold spells could reduce heating-related electricity demand.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Energy

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a cylindrical storage canister beside a heat pump unit, linked by copper pipes against a cream field. — Penn State researchers modeled heat pumps paired with potassium carbonate thermal storage to cut heating electricity demand during grid-stressed cold spells. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Would you be willing to use a heat pump paired with heat storage to lower winter power use?

Pennsylvania State University researchers evaluated residential heat pumps paired with thermochemical energy storage using potassium carbonate, and published their findings in the journal Energy. The study simulated a 220.82 square meter single-family home under New York City conditions.

Why it matters

Heat pumps become less efficient in cold weather while the electricity grid faces greater pressure, so the team tested whether heat stored ahead of cold spells could reduce heating-related electricity demand. The findings bear on how homes might be heated as grids shift toward high shares of decarbonized power.

The study compared a reference system requiring 68 kWh of thermal storage and 168 kWh of battery capacity against an optimized scenario needing 894 kWh of TCES capacity across 96 simulations. Whether the required efficiency gains are achievable in practice remains unestablished by the modeling alone.

The players

Pennsylvania State University

A public research university in University Park, Pennsylvania, whose researchers conducted the study.

The details

The team modeled an air-source heat pump coupled with potassium carbonate-based thermochemical storage and a battery, using hourly grid projections for a 95% decarbonized electricity system in 2050. Further development could enhance the thermal storage system's specific heating power to provide a greater share of heating demand during grid stress.

2050: Grid projections for a 95% decarbonized electricity system were modeled.
November 5, 2026: Article published on pv magazine Global.

Roadmap

The study builds on the broader effort to electrify home heating with heat pumps as the grid moves toward high shares of decarbonized power. It tests whether thermochemical storage can extend that effort by shifting heating loads away from periods of grid stress.

Homeowners considering heat pumps could eventually see thermal storage as a way to reduce electricity use during cold snaps, though the study models this only in simulation. Realizing it would require higher storage charge efficiency and stronger heat pump performance than current reference values.

The takeaway

Storing heat ahead of cold spells may help heat pumps ease grid strain, but the benefit depends on efficiency gains the study projects rather than measures. Readers should watch for experimental validation of thermochemical storage in real homes.