skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Cold Climates Heat Pump Design Optimization

Abstract

Heat pumps provide an efficient heating method; however they suffer from sever capacity and performance degradation at low ambient conditions. This has deterred market penetration in cold climates. There is a continuing effort to find an efficient air source cold climate heat pump that maintains acceptable capacity and performance at low ambient conditions. Systematic optimization techniques provide a reliable approach for the design of such systems. This paper presents a step-by-step approach for the design optimization of cold climate heat pumps. We first start by describing the optimization problem: objective function, constraints, and design space. Then we illustrate how to perform this design optimization using an open source publically available optimization toolbox. The response of the heat pump design was evaluated using a validated component based vapor compression model. This model was treated as a black box model within the optimization framework. Optimum designs for different system configurations are presented. These optimum results were further analyzed to understand the performance tradeoff and selection criteria. The paper ends with a discussion on the use of systematic optimization for the cold climate heat pump design.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
1038070
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
ASHRAE Transactions
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 118; Journal ID: ISSN 0001-2505
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Abdelaziz, Omar, and Shen, Bo. Cold Climates Heat Pump Design Optimization. United States: N. p., 2012. Web.
Abdelaziz, Omar, & Shen, Bo. Cold Climates Heat Pump Design Optimization. United States.
Abdelaziz, Omar, and Shen, Bo. 2012. "Cold Climates Heat Pump Design Optimization". United States.
@article{osti_1038070,
title = {Cold Climates Heat Pump Design Optimization},
author = {Abdelaziz, Omar and Shen, Bo},
abstractNote = {Heat pumps provide an efficient heating method; however they suffer from sever capacity and performance degradation at low ambient conditions. This has deterred market penetration in cold climates. There is a continuing effort to find an efficient air source cold climate heat pump that maintains acceptable capacity and performance at low ambient conditions. Systematic optimization techniques provide a reliable approach for the design of such systems. This paper presents a step-by-step approach for the design optimization of cold climate heat pumps. We first start by describing the optimization problem: objective function, constraints, and design space. Then we illustrate how to perform this design optimization using an open source publically available optimization toolbox. The response of the heat pump design was evaluated using a validated component based vapor compression model. This model was treated as a black box model within the optimization framework. Optimum designs for different system configurations are presented. These optimum results were further analyzed to understand the performance tradeoff and selection criteria. The paper ends with a discussion on the use of systematic optimization for the cold climate heat pump design.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1038070}, journal = {ASHRAE Transactions},
issn = {0001-2505},
number = ,
volume = 118,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2012},
month = {Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2012}
}