Development of a High-Efficiency, Gas-Fired, Absorption Heat Pump for Residential and Small-Commercial Applications: Phase I - Final Report Analysis of Advanced Cycles and Selection of the Preferred Cycle

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6004697· OSTI ID:6004697

Phillips, B. A. ^[1]

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1. Phillips Engineering Co., St. Joseph, MI (United States)

The purpose of the total project is to develop a gas-fired absorption heat pump for residential and small-commercial applications that will produce at least 1.6 Btu of heating and 0.7 Btu of cooling per Btu of heat content in the gas being burned. The primary technology advances that can be used to attain the new goals are higher efficiency cycles, increased flue efficiency, and better fluids. Flue efficiency technology is well developed, and fan-assisted combustion systems with condensing heat exchangers can limit flue and insulation losses to the 10% range. If this 10% loss assumption is made, the resulting target cycle COPs are 1.78 in heating mode and 0.78 in cooling mode at the ARI rating conditions. The objective of Phase 1 was to analyze working fluids and absorption-cycle concepts that are capable of performing at the target COPs and are potentially competitive with existing space-conditioning products in cost, operating life, and reliability. Six advanced cycles were evaluated with ammonia/water as the fluid pair. Then additional analysis was performed with other fluid pairs to determine whether cycle ranking would change depending on which fluid was used. It was concluded that the preferred cycle/fluid was the generator-absorber heat exchange (GAX) cycle using ammonia/water as the fluid pair. A cost estimate made by an independent manufacturing engineering firm for a residential heat pump based on the cycle/fluid combination determined that the GAX heat pump could be cost competitive with existing products.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Phillips Engineering Co., St. Joseph, MI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6004697
• Report Number(s): ORNL/Sub/86--24610/1; ON: DE91010442
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320106* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Building Equipment-- (1987-)
ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION CYCLE
AMMONIA
BUILDINGS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE
COMBUSTION
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
COOLING
COST
DESIGN
DOCUMENT TYPES
EVALUATION
FLUIDS
GAS HEAT PUMPS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT PUMPS
HEATING
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANUFACTURING
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
OXIDATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
PROGRESS REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
RELIABILITY
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SPECIFICATIONS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WATER
WORKING FLUIDS