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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Assessment of selected heat-pump systems. Annual report, February 1973-February 1974

Book ·
OSTI ID:5645103

The operation of a heat pump is described. Heat pump operating principles, the Rankine refrigeration cycle and the heat pump systems based upon that cycle are explained. The actual performance of commercially available heat pumps and some of the development work being done on heat-actuated heat pump systems are discussed. The energy-saving potential of incorporating a gas-fired prime mover is discussed for an idealized set of operating conditions. The Stirling refrigeration cycle and the performance of a Stirling heat pump driven by a gas-fired prime mover are discussed and its performance in the heating mode is presented. An in-depth study of Brayton refrigeration cycles and systems is presented. The importance of thermal regeneration, the influence of actual operating conditions, and the potential of operating in the supercritical region are indicated. The performance of an engine-driven, theoretical Brayton cycle heat pump is calculated for the heating mode. The current status of hardware based upon the Brayton cycle is summarized for both the cooling and the heating modes of operation. The power subsystems that might be used to drive the heat pumps and the potential of the absorption heat pump are discussed. From this evaluation of theoretical and idealized systems it is concluded that: the heating coefficients of performance for all analyzed theoretical heat pump systems driven by a hypothetical engine are approximately equal and high compared to those for an electrically driven heat pump; systems differ in cooling COP, operating pressures, temperatures, and flow rates; and the theoretical systems show the capability of operating effectively at very low ambient temperatures, provided that the prime mover's rejected heat is efficiently utilized and the system is capacity-modulated.

OSTI ID:
5645103
Report Number(s):
NP-24309
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English