Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265

www.exergyonline.com

Exergy analysis and experimental study of heat pump systems

E. Bilgen ∗ , H. Takahashi
Shizuoka University, Faculty of Engineering, 5-3-1 Johoku, Hamamatsu 432-8561, Japan
Received 21 March 2002; accepted 17 May 2002

Abstract
Exergy analysis of heat pump—air conditioner systems has been carried out. The irreversibilities due to heat transfer and friction have
been considered. The coefficient of performance based on the first law of thermodynamics as a function of various parameters, their optimum
values, and the efficiency and coefficient of performance based on exergy analysis have been derived. Based on the exergy analysis, a
simulation program has been developed to simulate and evaluate experimental systems. The simulation of a domestic heat pump—air
conditioner of 959 W nominal power (Matsushita room air conditioner model CS-XG28M) is then carried out using experimental data.
It is found that COP based on the first law varies from 7.40 to 3.85 and the exergy efficiency from 0.37 to 0.25 both a decreasing function of
heating or cooling load. The exergy destructions in various components are determined for further study and improvement of its performance.
 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Heat pumps for space heating and air conditioning have
been used extensively in many countries and exclusively
in Japan. Among the many types, wall units are used in
many household and apartment flats for the simple reason
that they are individual systems providing an efficient and
independent way of space air conditioning needs. Cooling
capacity of these units varies from 2 500 to 7 100 W and
their coefficient of performance, COP, is rated in the range
of 5.95 to 2.95 for a typical operation. Heating capacity
and their COP of these systems are slightly higher (see, for
example, [1]). These evaluations are carried out according
to standards established by Japanese Institute of Standard
(JIS): the COP is defined as the arithmetic mean of the ratios
of heating and cooling power to total input power, based on
the first law of thermodynamics, a traditional performance
rating concept of these systems. The temperatures are set as:
outside temperatures are 7 ◦ C in winter, 27 ◦ C in summer.
The total input power is the total electric power supplied to
electric motors, which run the compressor and fans.
During last two decades, reliability and performance of
heat pump systems have been improved considerably, which
are reflected in their extensive domestic and economical
* Correspondence and reprints. Current address: Ecole Polytechnique,
C.P. 6079 centre ville, Montreal, PQ, Canada H3C 3A7.
E-mail address: bilgen@polymtl.ca (E. Bilgen).
1164-0235/02/$ – see front matter  2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 1 6 4 - 0 2 3 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 8 3 - 3
use for space air conditioning. Similar trend can also be
observed in air duct and multiple type heat pump systems.
Research and development to improve the performance of
heat transfer equipment, such as evaporator, condenser, as
well as compressor is being continued. The tools used in the
industry are still based on the first law of thermodynamics
and it is becoming more and more difficult to identify
inefficiencies and their limits for further improvement.
Although the methodologies employing the second law
and the exergy concept are well-known in text books, the
engineers and researchers in this field seem to be reserved to
use them in their design, test and evaluation.
A literature review shows that analyses based on the sec-
ond law of thermodynamics, the availability and the ex-
ergy concepts have been introduced, and various theoretical
and experimental studies with heat pump systems have been
published [2–9]. Further, the irreversibility effect associated
with heat transfer across a finite temperature difference in
thermodynamic cycles has been analyzed and the tools for
explaining the relevant inefficiencies and their possible im-
provements have been developed [3]. Directly relevant theo-
retical and experimental studies concerning heat pump sys-
tems will be briefly reviewed next.
Theoretical studies employing the exergy concept have
been published by Nakanishi et al. [5] and Hiharat [9].
Nakanishi et al. [5] investigated exergetic COP of various
heat pump units in the market and determined possible up-
per limits for so-called super heat pumps. Hiharat [9] studied
260 E. Bilgen, H. Takahashi / Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265
Nomenclature
Ce external conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W·K−1
CH external conductance at hot end . . . . . . . W·K−1
Ci internal conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W·K−1
CL external conductance at cold end . . . . . . W·K−1
Ct total external conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . W·K−1
Cp thermal capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·kg−1 ·K−1
COP coefficient of performance
c velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m·s−1
Ė exergy flow rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·s−1
g acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m·s−2
h enthalpy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·kg−1
ṁ refrigerant mass flow rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg·s−1
ṁa air mass flow rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg·s−1
P pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pa
Q̇H heat flow rate to heat sink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·s−1
Q̇HC heat flow rate from the condenser . . . . . . . J·s−1
Q̇L heat flow rate from heat source . . . . . . . . . J·s−1
Q̇LC heat flow rate from the evaporator . . . . . . . J·s−1
Q̇i internal heat leak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·s−1
s entropy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·kg−1
T temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K
T0 reference temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K
TH high temperature reservoir temperature . . . . . K
theoretically heat pump systems and analyzed each transfor-
mation from the exergetic point of view. He presented the
components with irreversibilities and COP for various heat
pump systems. Experimental studies and exergy analysis of
the data have been presented in [2–8]. Akau and Schoen-
hals [2] studied experimentally a heat pump system using
water as a heat source and heat sink, analyzed the data by
using first and second laws of thermodynamics. They also
discussed briefly the concept of thermodynamic availability.
They showed the importance and difficulties in identifying
and using experimental reservoir temperatures in the calcu-
lation of the reverse Carnot cycle, which is used as the refer-
ence. Kaygusuz and Ayhan [6] studied experimentally a so-
lar assisted heat pump system, and analyzed the data using
the exergy concept. Torres-Reyes et al. [7] presented an ex-
perimental and optimization study with a solar assisted heat
pump system and proposed a methodology to determine op-
timum refrigerant temperatures in condenser and evaporator
as a function of ambient temperature and refrigerant thermo-
dynamic properties. Torres-Reyes and Cervantes de Gortari
[8] studied experimentally the same solar assisted heat pump
system in their earlier study and presented the second law ef-
ficiency and the coefficient of performance based on the first
law, and compared them with the theoretical ones.
It is evident that the COP of heat pumps have been
improved over the last two decades. Manufacturers have
achieved it so far by considering only the first law of
TL low temperature reservoir temperature . . . . . . K
THC average condenser temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . K
TLC average evaporator temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . K
u internal energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·kg−1
Ẇ work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J·s−1
x conductance ratio
z position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m
Greek symbols
η exergetic efficiency
ω absolute humidity, kg H2 O/kg dry air
φ relative humidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %
τ = TH /TL , temperature ratio
τc = THC /TLC , temperature ratio
Subscripts
E exergy
exp experimental
i inlet
max maximum
opt optimum
o outlet
the theoretical
thermodynamics, engineering intuition and know-how, with
no consideration about the consequences of the second law.
Literature review shows that the application and use of
the exergy concept, all by academia, is still limited to a
few examples and there seems to be no studies published
on currently used commercial heat pump systems. The
aim of our study is to complement previous studies using
the exergy concept by analyzing commercial wall units,
extensively used in Japan and elsewhere, and contribute to
the understanding of irreversibilities in various components.
In particular, we will consider a heat pump system produced
by Matsushita Electric Company, Matsushita model CS-
XG28M which is commonly used in Japan. In the following,
first we will present briefly the relevant thermodynamic
relations, then present the experimental system and data, and
finally the results and discussion.
2. Exergy analysis
With reference to Fig. 1, Ẇ is supplied to the cycle
between states 1 and 2, heat of condensation, QHC is
released to a reservoir at TH , between states 2 and 3.
Liquid refrigerant makes an adiabatic expansion through the
expansion valve between states 3 and 4, then evaporates
absorbing Q̇LC from a reservoir at TL between states 4
and 1 . By considering heat transfer and irreversibilities,
there will be finite temperature differences (THC − TH ) at
 E. Bilgen, H. Takahashi / Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265 261

(a) (b)

Fig. 1. (a) T –s diagram of the heat pump system studies, (b) Simplified schematic of the heat pump system. Thermodynamic state designations are the same
as in Fig. 1(a). Experimental points are shown with solid circles.

the condenser, (TL − TLC ) at the evaporator and the internal We note also that for the Carnot cycle and also reversible
heat leak from hot to cold end of the system, Qi . If a simple part of the cycle, the second law states that
linear relation is assumed for the heat transfer, 
Q̇H Q̇L 
 = 

Q̇HC = CH (THC − TH ) TH TL
(6)
Q̇LC = CL (TL − TLC ) Q̇HC Q̇LC  

(1) = 
Q̇i = Ci (TH − TL ) THC TLC
From Eqs. (1) and (4), we can express COP as a function of
Heating and cooling capacity of the system can be expressed Q̇H , Q̇L , Q̇i and the temperature ratios τ and τc , Eq. (5) as,
as  
1 Q̇i  
 COPH = 1− 

Q̇H = Q̇HC − Q̇i 1 − τc−1 Q̇HC
(2)   (7)
Q̇L = Q̇LC − Q̇i 1 Q̇i  

COPL = 1− 
τc − 1 Q̇LC
The system power input is From Eqs. (2), (5) and (6) we can obtain for the heating and
cooling capacities or loads, Q̇H and Q̇L ,
Ẇ = Q̇HC − Q̇LC = Q̇H − Q̇L (3) 
CL CH
Q̇H = TL (τc − τ ) − Q̇i 


where we used Eq. (2) for the equality of the second and CH + CL   (8)
third parts. CL CH 1 1 

Q̇L = TH − − Q̇i 
We can express the coefficient of performance of the CH + CL τ τc
system for heating and cooling as, Earlier studies show that the major irreversibilities are
 at the condensation and evaporation stages [2]. Hence
Q̇H 
 it makes sense to consider the related conductances as
COPH = 
Ẇ (4) design constraints. If we define, for example, the following
Q̇L 


conductance ratio as a parameter,
COPL =
Ẇ CL
x= (9)
CH + CL
Following temperature ratios are defined,
and insert it in Eq. (8), it can be shown that the loads

TH  are maximized with respect to x, if x = 0.5. This result
τ= 

TL makes sense because in modern heat pumps, depending on
(5) the mode of operation, the two heat exchangers are served
THC 

τc =  alternately for condensation or evaporation.
TLC
262 E. Bilgen, H. Takahashi / Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265

Using x = 0.5 as an optimum value, the maximum loads

are obtained as

Q̇H,max = 0.25Ce TL (τc − τ ) − Q̇i 
 
1 1 (10)
Q̇L,max = 0.25Ce TH − − Q̇i 
τ τc
Using Eqs. (4) and (10), we can also obtain the COP
maximized,

0.25Ce TL (τc − τ ) − Q̇i 

COPH,max = 
Ẇ (11)
0.25Ce TH (1/τ − 1/τc ) − Q̇i 

Fig. 2. Schematic of measurement system and instrumentation.
COPL,max =
Ẇ
The second law or exergy efficiency can be obtained if we full and half load conditions, which were for heating and
apply the same definition of COP in Eq. (4) for a reverse cooling modes. Following evaluation procedure established
Carnot cycle and use together with Eq. (7). We obtain, by Japanese Institute of Standard, the air temperatures were
   kept constant at TH = 20 ◦ C and TL = 7 ◦ C at condenser
COPH 1 − τ −1 Q̇i −1   and evaporator sides during heating mode, while at TH =
ηH,E = = 1+ 

COPrev 1 − τc−1 Q̇H 35 ◦ C and TL = 27 ◦ C during cooling mode. Although this
  (12)
COPL τ −1 Q̇i −1  

evaluation method does not satisfy a dynamic operation of
ηL,E = = 1+  a heat pump system, it establishes nevertheless a base for
COPrev τc − 1 Q̇L
thermodynamic performance.
Exergetic COP for heating and cooling can be defined as The thermodynamic data for R410A were taken from
 [11].
ĖH 

COPH,E = 
Ẇ (13)
ĖL 


COPL,E = 4. Simulation program
Ẇ
Experimental exergetic COP, on the other hand, may be Following the thermodynamic analysis presented above,
determined from the measured loads, Q̇H and Q̇L or from a simulation program was written on the Matlab platform.
Eq. (8) using experimental data as Various routines were written to compute thermodynamic
 data, to treat experimental data and to analyze and com-
Q̇H (1 − T0 /Tb ) 

COPH,E =  pute relevant thermodynamic parameters. Theoretical and
Ẇ (14) experimental results are presented in the following section
Q̇L (1 − T0 /Tb ) 

 in Figs. 3–7.
COPL,E =
Ẇ
where Tb is the thermodynamic temperature at the boundary
and T0 is the temperature of the dead state. 5. Results and discussion

The important parameters for heat pump systems are

3. Experimental system and data
The experimental data of steady state operation were
provided by Matsushita Electric Co. [10]. The heat pump
system was Matsushita room air conditioner model CS-
XG28M. Schematic of the experimental set up showing
measurement system and instrumentation is presented in
Fig. 2, which is self explanatory. Fig. 1(b) shows a simplified
flow sheet, with thermodynamic states corresponding to
those of Fig. 1(a). Experimentally measured parameters
were: pressure and temperatures at the states indicated with
solid circles, power to the compressor electric motor, total
power to the system including fans, mass flow rate of the
refrigerant R410A, volume flow rates, dry and wet bulb
temperatures of air through the heat exchangers of condenser
and evaporator. Experimental studies were carried out at
various coefficient of performance based on the first law
of thermodynamics, the exergy efficiency, coefficient of
performance based on the exergy, power input, load (heating
and cooling modes), and thermodynamic temperature ratios,
τc and τ . We will use these parameters to present the
experimental and theoretical results. We note at this point
that following [2], the temperatures THC and TLC are taken
at the states shown in Fig. 1(a): THC at the inlet of the
condenser at the vapor saturation curve and TLC at the exit
of the evaporator in the super heat region. The choice of
the state for THC is justified since the simulation test results
showed that over 93% of the heat transfer was done at
this state. The choice of the state for TLC did not make a
difference because the temperature difference between inlet
and outlet was only 0.2 K and the difference in results was
not discernible.
 E. Bilgen, H. Takahashi / Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265
(a)
Fig. 3. (a) COPH as a function of heating load; (b) COPL as a function of cooling load.
Fig. 4. COP of experimental, theoretical and optimum cases as a function
of thermodynamic temperature ratio τc = THC /TLC .
Fig. 3(a) and (b) show COPH and COPL as a function of
load, Q̇H or Q̇L for heating and cooling modes respectively.
Theoretical and optimized COP are calculated by Eqs. (7)
and (11). Experimental COP is calculated by Eq. (4),
where Q̇H is obtained from measured data and Ẇ is
the experimental power input to the compressor electric
motor. We can see that COP is from about 4 to 11, which
shows the progress made in heat pump technology in the
last two decades to produce an efficient thermodynamic
system. We see also that COP decreases with increasing
load for both modes of operation. It is noticed also COPH
is slightly higher than COPL at similar load levels. In
fact, this inverse relationship between COP and load, and
the COP levels for each mode of operation, as it can be
seen from Eq. (7), are well presented and explained in
every company’s heat pump catalogue. The theoretical COP
shows that there is still room for improvement: the relative
difference is about 20% for both heating and cooling mode.
Compared to COPmax corresponding to optimized design
and operation, this difference is about 30%. Finally, we
263
(b)
plotted also COP based on Eq. (4) where Ẇ = Ẇtotal . This is
the experimental total power input, which includes parasitic
powers, mainly input to the fans in condenser and evaporator
heat exchanger systems. Parasitic powers make about 7 to
18% of the total power at high and low loads, respectively.
They decrease slightly with decreasing load but their relative
value increases. We see that the penalty varies from about 0.3
to 1.2 COP points (or from 7 to 18%) at high and low loads
respectively. We note that parasitic powers do not contribute
directly to heating or cooling loads, for they are not installed
in airflow ducts. In a practical operation, the parasitic powers
supplied to the fans may contribute in a positive way in
heating mode and in a negative way in cooling mode: in the
former case, the fan power is dissipated as heat, which may
improve COPH and in the latter, the evaporator fan power is
dissipated as heat, which may deteriorate COPL .
Following Eqs. (7) and (8), the coefficient of perfor-
mance, COP is a function of thermodynamic temperature
ratio, τc (or similarly τ when it is variable). Eq. (7) shows
that its effect on COP for heating and cooling mode is to
lower COP when increased. The results are shown in Fig. 4.
As expected, as τc increases, experimental as well as theo-
retical and optimum COP decreases and the observed trend
is similar to those of Fig. 3.
Exergy efficiency as a function of load for both heating
and cooling mode is presented in Fig. 5. Following the COP
results of Fig. 3, the exergy efficiency is also a decreasing
function of the load and is a little higher for heating mode
than cooling. The exergy efficiency, ηE , varies from 0.22 to
0.35, which shows that the exergy efficency of heat pump
systems is not as impressive as the COP exclusively used
for rating heat pump systems and it appears that there may
be room for further improvement.
Eqs. (13) and (14) give, respectively, theoretical and
experimental exergetic COP. Following our assumption
for THC and TLC discussed earlier, the thermodynamic
temperature at the boundary, Tb , in Eq. (14), is assumed
to be equal to THC for heating and TLC for cooling mode
264 E. Bilgen, H. Takahashi / Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265
Fig. 5. Exergy or second law efficiency as a function of load for heating and
cooling modes.
Fig. 6. Experimental and theoretical COPE as a function of thermodynamic
temperature ratio τc = THC /TLC .
respectively. The results are shown in Fig. 6 for both heating
and cooling mode as a function of τc . We see that COPE
is a decreasing function of the τc for heating mode but
an increasing function for cooling mode. In Eq. (13), Ẇ
is a steep increasing function of τc . In comparison, ĖH is
a moderately increasing function of τc , which makes the
COPE a decreasing function of it. In the case of cooling
mode, ĖL is a steep increasing function of τc with a smaller
slope than that of Ẇ , resulting in a COPE , which is an
increasing function of τc . Obviously, this unit is operating
with a better performance at high rather than low cooling
loads. The reason may be due to design requirements set for
this unit to obtain a better performance at high cooling loads,
since it is a more critical operation in Japan. It is noticed
that low cooling loads (off design conditions) can be met
easily although at lower efficiencies. In the heating mode, its
performance seems to be more consistent following the load.
Typical experimental energy and exergy flow diagrams
are shown in Fig. 7 for the full load case: In Fig. 7(a),
the energy supplied to the compressor electric motor is
(a)
(b)
Fig. 7. Energy and exergy flow diagrams for the case of full load operation.
Ẇ = 886 W, the energy from heat source is Q̇L = 3 412 W
and the energy to heat sink is Q̇H = 4 112, and 186
is energy wasted. COPH = 4.64 and COPL = 3.85. In
Fig. 7(b), the exergy supplied to the compressor electric
motor is the same, Ẇ = 886 W, the exergy to heat source
is ĖL = 314 W, the exergy supplied to heat sink is ĖH =
229 W, and the exergy from expansion valve supplied to
the environment is ĖXPV = 61 W. Excluding the exergy loss
due to isentropic compression, the total exergy destruction
amounts to 282 W. The resulting exergetic coefficient of
performance is COPH,E = 0.258 and COPL,E = 0.354 for
heating and cooling respectively. Interpretation of exergy
results is different from that of energy: in heating mode, for
example, the exergy supplied to heat source is wasted since
it is usually not utilized. The exergy supplied through the
expansion valve is also wasted in both modes of operation.
 E. Bilgen, H. Takahashi / Exergy, an International Journal 2 (2002) 259–265
The exergy destruction in the system is due to irreversibil-
ities and may be studied for performance improvement:
From 886 W supplied to the heat pump, 186 W is spent to
run the electrical and mechanical systems and the compres-
sor consumes 700 W. The compressor isentropic efficiency
is 90% or 70 W is lost exergy, which is directly related to
irreversible compression process. Further, 42 W is spent for
the circulation of refrigerant in the cycle, which is dissipated
as heat. The remaining 54 W is lost due to irreversibilities
in the heat exchangers. It is seen that excluding the parasitic
powers discussed earlier, 352 W exergy or 39.7% of the net
exergy supplied to the compressor is used to run the heat
pump system. Each may be studied further in conjunction
with the required economical implications. A system exergy-
economics optimization study may also be carried out to
guide the designers in identifying relative importance of var-
ious components to be improved (see, for example, [12]).
We note that at off design conditions, the exergy used for
running the cycle was proportionally lower as the load be-
came lower. However, the percentage of exergy use became
higher, upto 62.1%, which is an expected trend. We note also
that the exergy efficiency, ηE and COPE by Eqs. (12) and
(13) are defined to reflect the useful exergy supplied in heat-
ing or cooling mode and the exergy destructions in the cycle
are not the only influencing parameters in their definitions.
For example, in heating mode, the exergy wasted in the ex-
pander and that supplied to heat source amounts to 375 W,
which has the same order of magnitude when compared to
exergy destruction of 352 W. This unused exergy is also an
important influencing parameter on ηE and COPE .
6. Conclusions
Exergy analysis and experimental study of a heat pump
system is presented. The experimental system was Mat-
sushita room air conditioner CS-XG28M. Experimental and
theoretical coefficient of performance, COP based on the
first law of thermodynamics, and the optimum coefficient of
performance, COPmax have been calculated as a function of
loads, Q̇H , Q̇L , and thermodynamic temperature ratio, τc .
The exergy efficiency, ηE and exergy coefficient of
performance, COPE for heating and cooling modes have
been calculated similarly. It is found that excluding the
parasitic power spent to run the fans
(i) experimental COP varies as an inverse function of load
from 7.40 to 3.85,
(ii) COP may be improved by 20 to 30% when optimum
design is achieved,
(iii) similar conclusions are found when various COP are
examined as a function of τc ,
265
(iv) exergy efficiency, ηE is a decreasing function of load,
varying from 0.35 to 0.22,
(v) exergy coefficient of performance, COPE is a decreas-
ing function of τc for heating mode varying from 0.37
to 0.25, and an increasing function for cooling mode
varying from 0.13 to 0.34,
(vi) The exergy destructions to run the cycle in various
components, namely, compressor, heat exchangers, ex-
pander and the piping system are determined.
The percentage of exergy used to run the heat pump system
varies from 39.7 to 62.1% corresponding to the design
and off design conditions, respectively. To improve the
performance of the heat pump system each component
may be further studied from exergy usage and economics
points of view. Eventually, a system exergy-economics
optimization study may be carried out to identify each
component’s relative importance with respect to operational
conditions.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge fruitful discussions we
had during this study with Drs. A. Nakayama and M. Fukuta
from Shizuoka University, and Mr. K. Sawai from Mat-
sushita Electric Co.
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