REFRIGERATION HEAT PUMPS AND ICE STORES

BASIC KNOWLEDGE

HEAT PUMPS
What is a heat pump? Where does the heat pump get its energy from?
Discharged useful heat
A heat pump transports heat from a low for heating A heat pump withdraws its energy normally from the For ground water and soil, the heat exchangers must be
temperature level to a higher temperature environment. This is usually air, ground water, soil or river of a very large dimension to prevent local undercooling.
level. For this purpose the heat pump requires water. If the energy is taken from the ground, it is also
When selecting the heat source, the required investment,
a drive power. This can be mechanical, elec- Condenser called near-surface geothermal energy.
efficiency, availability and approval cost must be taken
tric or thermal. Usually heat pumps working in
Important for high efficiency is as high and constant into account. Particularly cheap is the utilisation of low-
accordance with the principle of a compres- Energyy as possible a temperature of the energy source. In the quality waste heat, such as exhaust air or cooling water.
sion refrigeration system are in use. Heat spent tto
drive the
winter, when the greatest heating capacity is required, the
pumps based on the absorption process are
compressor temperature should not drop too much.
used more rarely.
Expansion
n
element
Ambient air Ground water
Compresssor
advantage: advantage:
low investment good performance,
disadvantage: independent of seasons
poor performance in disadvantage:
T 1 < T2 Evaporator winter greater investment,
approval
Heat pump: River water Soil
Heat absorbed from
The gain is the advantage: advantage:
the environment
discharged heat low investment good performance,
(heating) disadvantage: independent of seasons
Energy flows in a compression heat pump poor performance in disadvantage:
winter large area required

Refrigerating Drive of compression heat pumps by

machine mechanical energy: DIFFERENT EVAPORATOR DESIGNS
(refrigerator): Electric motor
The gain is the Internal combustion motor (gas or diesel motor) Refrigerant circuit Heat pump with direct evaporator
T2 < T1 absorbed heat Stirling motor
The refrigerant absorbs the heat for evaporation
(cooling) Drive of absorption heat pumps by thermal energy: directly from the environment (often ambient air). The
Combustion principle is used in the air-to-water heat pump. To
Comparison of heat pump and refrigerating Solar heat achieve short refrigerant pipes, the direct evaporator
machine Waste heat from processes should be close to the condensing unit. The costs are
low.
Direct eva
aporator
A heat pump can cool or heat
4 4 4 4 Condensing Unit
Due to the same principle of operation a heat pump can
TC
C
3 5 3 TCC T
TC
3 5 3 TC
T
also operate as a refrigerating machine. It is thus possible
1 2 1 2 to use the same system for heating in winter and cool-
Heating Cooling Evaporator Heat pump
p Heat pump with brine circuit
ing in summer. Only the functions of the evaporator and
condenser are swapped. This is achieved by a reversing A second circuit, the brine circuit, transports the heat
valve, two non-return valves and a second expansion from the heat source to the evaporator. This makes it
valve. Most so-called split system air conditioners for room possible to bridge larger distances between the heat
Brine circuit pump and the heat source, preferably ground water,
6 6 cooling already have an integrated heating function.
7 soil or river water. Extensive systems of pipes with low
power density can be used as heat exchangers. Due
to the second circuit with circulating pump the costs
1, 2 evaporator/ condenser, 3 expansion valve, 4 non-return valve, 5 collector, 6 reversing valve, are higher.
Heat exchanger Circulating
i pump
7 compressor

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