LABORATORY EVALUATION: PERFORMANCE OF A 10 RT GAS-ENGINE-DRIVEN HEAT PUMP (GHP)

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2008

OSTI ID:993003

Zaltash, Abdolreza ^[1]; Linkous, Randall Lee ^[1]; Geoghegan, Patrick J ^[1]; Vineyard, Edward Allan ^[1]; Wetherington, Jr, G Randall ^[1]

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1. ORNL

Building air-conditioning (cooling) is the single largest use of electricity, driving increases in summer peak electric demand in much of the United States. Increases in peak load on the utility grid lead to high electricity prices, power quality problems, and grid system inefficiencies and even failures. Improved air-conditioning technology thus has the greatest potential impact on the electric grid compared to other technologies that use electricity. Thermally-activated systems, such as natural gas engine-driven heat pumps, can provide overall peak load reduction and electric grid relief for summer peak demand. This study describes the performance of a 10 refrigeration ton (RT) natural gas engine-driven heat pump rooftop unit in a controlled environment over a wide range of operating conditions in heating and cooling modes. Results showed gas COP exceeding the goal of 1.6 at 47 F (8.3 C) rating condition. Gas COP in cooling mode also exceeded the goal of 1.2 at 95 F (35 C) rating condition. Future work will investigate additional applications for gas engine-driven equipment, such as residential space conditioning.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Cooling, Heating and Power Integration Laboratory
• Sponsoring Organization: ORNL work for others
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 993003
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
AIR CONDITIONING
ELECTRICITY
EVALUATION
HEAT PUMPS
HEATING
NATURAL GAS
PEAK LOAD
PERFORMANCE
PRICES
REFRIGERATION
gas engine-driven heat pump