Building America Case Study: Impact of Improved Duct Insulation on Fixed-Capacity (SEER 13) and Variable-Capacity (SEER 22) Heat Pumps, Cocoa, Florida

Program Document · Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017

OSTI ID:1358059

C. Withers, J. Cummings, B. Nigusse, E. Martin

A new generation of central, ducted variable-capacity heat pump systems has come on the market, promising very high cooling and heating efficiency. Instead of cycling on at full capacity and then cycling off when the thermostat is satisfied, they vary their cooling and heating output over a wide range (approximately 40 to 118% of nominal full capacity); thus, staying 'on' for 60% to 100% more hours per day compared to fixed-capacity systems. Current Phase 4 experiments in an instrumented lab home with simulated occupancy evaluate the impact of duct R-value enhancement on the overall operating efficiency of the variable-capacity system compared to the fixed-capacity system.

• Research Organization: Building America - Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B) (Building America)
• OSTI ID: 1358059
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO-102017-4721; 7658
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

residential
residential buildings
BA-PIRC
Building America
variable capacity heat pump
duct insulation
seasonal cooling energy
peak demand
space conditioning