IBTM 5150

Advanced HVAC Systems

Week 6, Lecture 8

Heat Pump I
Zhe (Walter) Wang
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
 01. Refrigeration cycle

02. Ideal cycle

Agenda 03. Theoretical cycle

04. Refrigerant

05. Actual cycle

Refrigeration cycle

• To be able to work constantly, it needs to be a cycle

• Four key components High Low
pressure pressure
• Compressor 4

• Low pressure gas to high pressure gas

Liquid
• Condenser 1

• High pressure gas to high pressure liquid

• Expansion valve 2

• High pressure liquid to low pressure liquid

• Evaporator 3
• Low pressure liguid to low pressure gas Gas
Refrigeration cycle

• Another name: vapor compression

refrigeration cycle
• Phase change happens in High Low
condenser and evaporator pressure pressure
• Latent heat of phase change is large
Liquid
• Water
• Latent heat: 2266 kJ/kg
• Specific heat: 4.2 kJ/(kgoC)

• Compressing gas consumes more

energy than compressing water
given the same pressure change Gas
• Net work input
W  Fds  PAds  PdV
 01. Refrigeration cycle

02. Ideal cycle

Agenda 03. Theoretical cycle

04. Refrigerant

05. Actual cycle

Ideal cycle: Reverse Carnot cycle

qQ kc Condensing T
2 冷凝器 qk
Tk 3
2

=
3 2
w
Wcc
w
We
e Sw=wc-we
3
Expansion 4 1 Compression
4 压缩机 T0 + 1
膨胀机 4
q0 Ss
qQ0 Evaporation
1 蒸发器
Ss11
e
sS44

• Why it is called reverse Carnot cycle?

Ideal cycle: Reverse Carnot cycle

• Efficiency for cooling

q0 T T
c   0 qk
Sw Tk  T0 3
Tk 2

=
• Efficiency for heating Sw=wc-we
q q  Sw Tk T0 + 1
h  k  0  c 1  4
q0
Sw Sw Tk  T0 Ss
sS44 Ss11
• How to improve efficiency
• Reduce the temperature different between T0 and Tk
How to improve cooling efficiency in HK?

• Reduce Tk
• Water source heat pump T
• Ground source heat pump qk
Tk 3
2
• Pre-cooling at night

=
• Increase T0 Sw=wc-we
• Turn up the temperature set-point T0 + 1
4
q0 Ss
sS44 Ss11
Ideal cycle: Reverse Carnot cycle

• Carnot cycle is ideal

• Evaporation/Condensing: Heat transfer with no temperature difference
• Expansion: Need an expansion engine to collect the work from expansion
• Compression: 100% efficiency
• Problem: The cycle needs to match the property of refrigerant
qQ k
c Condensing T
2 冷凝器 qk
Tk 3
2

=
3 2
w
Wcc
w
We
e Sw=wc-we
3
Expansion 4 1 Compression
4 压缩机 T0 + 1
膨胀机 4
q0 Ss
qQ0 Evaporation
1 蒸发器
Ss11
e
sS44
 01. Refrigeration cycle

02. Ideal cycle

Agenda 03. Theoretical cycle

04. Refrigerant

05. Actual cycle

Theoretical refrigeration cycle

• Constrained by the thermal property of refrigerant and economic,

equipment security issues
• A refrigerant is a working fluid used in the refrigeration cycle where in most
cases they undergo a repeated phase transition from a liquid to a gas and
back again.
T
qk
Tk 3
2
=

Sw=wc-we
T0 + 1
4
q0 Ss
sS44 Ss11
Theoretical refrigeration cycle

• Constant pressure heat transfer

• Does not collect expansion work

T pk
qk T
k 2'
Tk 3 Liquid Two- Gas Condensing: gas to liquid
2
=

3
phase 2
Sw=wc-we Tk
p0
wc
T0 + 1
w
T0 5 4e 4′
1′ Evaporation: liquid to gas
4 1
q0 Ss q0
sS44 Ss11 6 7 7′ 8 9 s
Actual refrigeration cycle

• Constrained by the thermal property of refrigerant

and economic, equipment security issues
• Compression: cannot happen in gas-liquid two-phase flow
• The liquid will hit the compressor blade
• No liquid for fan
• No gas for pump
T pk
qk T
k 2'
Tk 3 Liquid Two- Gas Condensing: gas to liquid
2
=

3
phase 2
Sw=wc-we Tk
p0
wc
T0 + 1 w
T0 5 4e 4′
1′ Evaporation: liquid to gas
4 1
q0 Ss q0
sS44 Ss11 6 7 7′ 8 9 s
Different charts

Pressure-enthalpy chart Temperature-entropy chart

pk
2
T

3
Tk
p0

T0 4
1

s
 01. Refrigeration cycle

02. Ideal cycle

Agenda 03. Theoretical cycle

04. Refrigerant

05. Actual cycle

Refrigerant

• The medium used in refrigerant cycle

• Chemical compound that is capable of going through phase changes in order
to absorb or release heat
• Selection criteria
• Efficiency: Large latent heat of vaporization
• Economic issue: cheap, stable
• Security: saturation pressure should be above but close to the ambient
pressure
• A little bit leakage is OK
• But air enter the cycle is bad
Refrigerant

• Evaluation metrics
• COP
• Cooling capacity
• Boiling point 5000
R32

• Condition ） 4000
R410A

• Te：0℃
3

kJ/m
R717

• Tc：50℃
R407C
（
3000 R143a R22

Cooling capacity
R404A R502
R125 R290

2000
R12 R134a

1000

R11 R123

0
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40
Boiling point（℃）
Boiling point（℃）
Refrigerant

• Other considerations to select the refrigerant

• Safety
• Flammability
• Toxicity
• Causticity: no reaction with copper
• Environmental
• Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
• Global Warming Potential (GWP)
• Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI)
• Life cycle assessment
Refrigerant

Phased out by 2010, regulated

by Montreal Protocol (1987)
-- China completed in 2007

Phased out by 2030, regulated

by Montreal Protocol (2007)

• Montreal Protocol is the first

universally ratified treaties in
United Nations history
Refrigerant: a brief summary

Name Example Environmental concern Phase-out time

1st generation CFCs R-11, • Damages atmospheric 1996 in
(Chlorofluorocarbons) R-12, ozone layer industrialized
R-503 • Global warming countries
2nd generation HCFCs R-22, • Similar to CFC but short- 2020-2040
(hydrochlorofluorocarbons) R-123 lived in the atmosphere
3rd generation HFCs R-23, • Global warming Not regulated
(hydrofluorocarbons) R-32, for now
R-410A,
R-407C,
R-134A
Not widely Inorganic NH3, • Less environmental concern
used CO2 • Not stable and efficient in
refrigerant cycles
Refrigerant

• In practice, stored in tanks with different colors

• Naming conventions
• https://www.fwdengineers.com/2017/01/17/refrigerant-history-and-
nomenclature-part-2/

R410A R407C R134a R22 R502

 01. Refrigeration cycle

02. Ideal cycle

Agenda 03. Theoretical cycle

04. Refrigerant

05. Actual cycle

Actual refrigeration cycle

High pressure/temperature

Condenser

Remove heat outdoor

Expansion valve

Reduce
pressure

Cooling air / Water Compressor

Increase
pressure

Evaporator

Low pressure/temperature
Example1: air source heat pump

Condensing
• Reverse Carnot cycle temperature: 45℃

• Tk＝308.15K Condenser
Qc
• T0＝295.15K Ambient
temperature: 35℃
• Efficiency = 22.7
Indoor
• With temperature difference temperature: 22℃
QL
Pin

• Tk＝318.15K
• T0＝283.15K Compressor
• Efficiency = 8.09 Qe

Evaporator
Evaporative
temperature: 10℃
Example2: heat pump with cooling tower

Condensing
• Cooling tower temperature: 40℃

• Tk＝313.15K Cooling tower

Qc
• T0＝283.15K Ambient
temperature: 35℃
• Efficiency = 9.43
Indoor QL
temperature: 22℃ Pin

Compressor
Qe

Evaporator
Evaporative
temperature: 10℃
Example3: water source heat pump

Condensing
• Reverse Carnot cycle temperature: 33℃

• Tk＝301.15K Condenser
Qc
• T0＝295.15K Ambient
temperature: 28℃
• Efficiency = 49.19
Indoor
• With temperature difference temperature: 22℃
QL
Pin

• Tk＝306.15K
• T0＝283.15K Compressor
• Efficiency = 12.31 Qe

Evaporator
Evaporative
temperature: 10℃
Methods to improve efficiency

• Approach 1. Recool k 2 pk
T
• Why it can improve efficiency 3
• In a single cycle Tk
3′
wc p0
• Same work T0
5 4
1
4′
• More cooling q0

• How s
Δq0
• Add a separate recooler
• Add the area of the condenser
 Methods to improve efficiency

• Approach 2: reuse the evaporation work

qk pk
High T. liquid High T. gas
k 2
Condenser
T

Evaporation Compressor 3
engine
Tk
Valve
wc p0
we wc we
5 4
T0 4′
1
Evaporator ∆q0 q0
Low T. Low T. gas
gas-liquid q0 6 7′ 7 8 s
q0e q0   q0
 th e     th
w ce wc  we
Methods to improve efficiency

pk
• Approach 3: multi-stage compression T
2

• Why it can improve efficiency Tk 3

• In a single cycle p0

• Less work T0
4 1
• More cooling s
• How pk
T 4΄
• Two compressor 4

• Two expansion valve Tk 5 pm

6' 2 p0
Tm 6 3
T0
7 1

s
Methods to improve efficiency

• Recooler or larger evaporator for recooling

• Expansion engine for reusing expansion work
• Multi compressors and expansion valves for multi-stage compression

• No free lunch
• System becomes more complicated
 4

Actual refrigeration cycle

2 3

pc 1

T Pressure drop in condenser c'

c
2' d
2

Tk(pk) 3 Heat loss in compressor

Expansion 3' Heat loss pa
work loss to protect
compressor 1 1" b
T0(p0)
4' 4 a
1'
Pressure drop in evaporator
s
Actual heat pump

• Losses in Total
Motor loss
actual heat Transmission loss
loss
pump Compressor loss

Cycle loss
Adiabatic
Motor Transmission Mechanical indicated
ηe ηd ηm ηi

Motor input Pin Motor output Shaft Pe Indicated Pi Theoretical Pth

Pout

Pin= Pth/(ηiηmηdηe)
Heat pump performance curve

• COP (Coefficient Of Performance)

• Cooling q0
COPC 
Sw
• Heating qk
COPH 
Sw

• Two major factors

• Condensing temperature
• Partial load ratio (load/rated load)

Yu, F.W. and Chan, K.T., 2007. Part load performance of air-
cooled centrifugal chillers with variable speed condenser fan
control. Building and Environment, 42(11), pp.3816-3829.
Internal efficiency

• Internal efficiency
COPactual
internal 
COPcarnot
• A.k.a. Thermodynamic perfection
• How close the actual COP is to the Carnot COP (the theoretical limit)
• Considers all the heat/work loss of the actual pump
• For most heat pumps
• The internal efficiency is in the range of 30-50%
Summary - Refrigeration cycle

• Refrigeration cycles
• Ideal cycle
• Theory cycle
• Actual cycle
• Refrigerants
• Methods to improve performance
• Recool
• Reuse expansion work
• multi-stage compression