Renewables
www.heatingandventilating.net
Innovate to accumulate K
Over the years, heat pumps have changed beyond all recognition to the point where their lifetime cost is now cheaper than oil and gas for heating in many countries. But finance is not the only improvement. Tim Mitchell, sales director of Klima-Therm, examines recent heat pump developments
lima-Therm has been winning HVAC industry awards consistently for more than two decades, reflecting the fact that the cutting-edge technology it supplies is developing in colossal leaps and at breath-taking speed. In fact, we are only able to sustain our success and capitalise on the industry’s recognition of our achievements through constant innovation. When it comes to product advancements in HVAC equipment, the clear focus is on sustainability and nowhere is this more evident than in heat pumps, not least because of the global drive towards the electrification of heat and the ubiquitous requirement for it.
The highly respected International Energy Agency estimates that around 190 million heat pump units were in operation in buildings worldwide in 2021. But it adds: “Heat pumps still meet only around 10% of the global heating need in buildings though, below the deployment level required to get on track with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario. In this scenario, the global heat pump stock reaches about 600 million by 2030, covering at least 20% of global heating needs.” So, there is plenty of scope for growth in the heat pump market, which is fortunate given how far the technology has come and how much further it has the potential to go.
It also means there is plenty of room for innovation. Basic mechanical functions have improved over the past decade or so since my own company started its regular run of winning awards. Heat pumps were, for example, unable to operate over the wide range of temperatures they can today thanks to variable speed, or inverter, technology in compressors and fans, and the closeness of control they and other electronics can now deliver. Other advances have also come about as a result
of improvements right across the spectrum of componentry and design in the world of heat pumps,
“high temperature” used to mean more than 45°C or so, but we can now offer machines with a maximum output flow temperature of 120°C. These versatile devices can be used in a wide
range of applications including hot water production and space heating, but also district heating schemes, waste heat recovery, and thermal storage. A recent example of advanced technical thinking and application can be found in Scotland where engineering academics have produced a new heat pump prototype. Developed by University of Glasgow personnel, it could pave the way to making heat pump technology even cheaper to run. It works by introducing heat storage into the heat pump’s design by adding a small water tank and a coil of copper tube to a conventional air source heat pump. The engineers who have patented the design claim this could make heat pumps up to 10% more energy efficient than current machines (
https://go.nature. com/3NHfMxr).
Hybrid heat pumps, meanwhile, can combine a heat pump and fossil fuel fired boiler as interim hybrid heat pump systems for space heating and domestic hot water systems in residential and light commercial buildings. Refrigerants have also been developed over the past 10 years enabling heat pumps to tread much more lightly on the planet; natural refrigerants like propane, CO2 and ammonia have always been
Key areas of heat pump innovation
There are several areas where heat pumps are seeing significant innovation. According to the IEA (https://bit. ly/3DYxdpZ), these include: ¡ Systems-oriented solutions – algorithm design to optimise whole-building/district energy use, integrated active controls, storage, on-site integration with solar PV, control design to exploit the potential of heat pumps to provide flexibility to the electric grid. ¡ Compact integrated solutions – ’polyvalent’ 4-pipe machines to meet the entire heating and cooling needs of buildings whilst simultaneously recovering energy from the building itself. ¡ Improved acoustics and aesthetics to increase the acceptability and expand the installation potential. ¡ New drilling techniques to reduce the surface footprint of geothermal solutions. ¡ Combined heat pumps and storage systems whereby manufacturers work to provide the equipment together with an energy management system to operate all components in the most efficient way
available for use, but their application is becoming much more commonplace and even the latest ‘traditional’ refrigerants have a far lower global warming potential than their predecessors. Some improvements come in clusters. Multiple
developments have been made, for instance, on the latest heat pump available from Klima-Therm – which won the 2022 HVR Award for Heat Pump Product of the Year category. This pioneering device – the Engie Refrigeration Spectrum Water – is an ultra-high efficiency heat pump designed for industrial and commercial applications or integration into heat networks and district heating in housing developments. The 12 models in the series boast nominal heat outputs of 350 to 3,100kW, a condenser leaving water temperature of up to 65°C, and the choice of four low GWP refrigerants. But the advantages of the climate-friendly Spectrum Water heat pump don’t end with its unimpeachable sustainability credentials. It also offers far more, including: ¡ High efficiency – a unique combination of turbo compressors with magnetic bearing, flooded shell and tube condensers, and the open-flash economiser as standard guarantees maximum seasonal efficiency and performance with a minimal footprint. ¡ Reliability – instead of employing a single compressor, overall capacity is split among multiple compressors, which creates redundancies that maximises operational reliability. ¡ Smart operation – via an intelligent and fast Siemens S7 PLC. ¡ Oil-free operation – ensuring stable performance and efficiency throughout the machine’s service life.
22 December 2022
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