Brookhaven solar-heat-pump simulator: technical description and experimental results

Technical Report · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:5892742

Catan, M

The series solar-assisted heat pump (SAHP) system has the potential to deliver heat with very high seasonal coefficients of performance (coefficient of performance or COP is the ratio of useful heat delivered to electrical power consumed). This potential rests on the ability of the heat-pump component to use the high source temperatures available from the solar-collector component to deliver heat with a COP which rises monotonically with source temperature. The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Heat Pump Simulator has played an important role in a program aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of building simple potentially inexpensive heat pumps for use in SAHP systems. Basically the work described here consists of the following: (1) The construction and testing of a laboratory heat pump built from conventional components and characterized by a very desirable COP versus source temperature profile. (2) The testing of two prototype SAHPs built by heat-pump manufacturers under contract to DOE. (3) Detailed component and control tests aimed at establishing improvements in the SAHP prototypes. The paper describes, in some detail, the BNL Heat Pump Simulator, a versatile instrument used to test heat pumps and heat-pump subcomponents under transient and steady-state conditions.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 5892742
• Report Number(s): BNL-51627; ON: DE83015182
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140901* -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Space Heating & Cooling
AIR CONDITIONERS
ANALOG SYSTEMS
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
HEAT PUMPS
HEATING SYSTEMS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
SIMULATORS
SOLAR AIR CONDITIONERS
SOLAR COOLING SYSTEMS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
SOLAR-ASSISTED HEAT PUMPS
TESTING