Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) Redesign

Lead Performer: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) — Oak Ridge, TN
Partner: Emerson Climate Technologies — St. Louis, MO 
FY19 DOE Funding: $240,000
Project Term: October 1, 2018 - February 28, 2020
Funding Type: Direct Funded

Project Objective

ORNL will collaborate with Emerson Climate Technologies to optimize the design of a prototype residential cold climate heat pump (CCHP) and reduce the overall cost of the system. The previous CCHP design would have been positioned to enter the residential market from an energy performance and reliability viewpoint. However, its cost, manufacturability, and serviceability needed further improvements to make the CCHP a viable product. Based on the laboratory and field observations, ORNL estimates that they can achieve a 20% heat exchanger cost reduction with minimal impact on the efficiency.

The performance goal of this project is to deliver a field-test-ready residential, air-source heat pump, able to reach a heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF) greater than 12.0 and a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) greater than 16.0 with a rated capacity of 2 to 3.5 tons.

Project Impact

In the U.S., there are approximately 3.5 million dwellings that use an electric furnace or heat pump for heating in very cold and cold regions.¹ These homes consume approximately 0.18 quads of energy annually for heating.² Using a high-performance CCHP for heating could result in significant savings over current technologies. Assuming replacement of electric heating with a high-efficiency CCHP, the annual primary energy savings could be 0.12 quads.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Dale Hoffmeyer
Lead Performer: Andre Desjarlais, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

Related Publications

• 2017 BTO Peer Review – Split System Cold Climate Heat Pump
• EERE Success Story — "Energy-Efficient Heat Pump for Colder Regions Keeps Residents Cozy with Lower Utility Bills"
• Bo Shen, Omar Abdelaziz and Van Baxter, 2017, “High-Performance Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) Using Tandem Vapor Injection Compressors – Final Report,” ORNL Report, ORNL/TM-2017/329
• Bo Shen, Omar Abdelaziz, Van Baxter and Keith Rice, 2015, “High-Performance Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) – Final Report,” ORNL Report, ORNL/TM-2015/784
• Bo Shen, Omar Abdelaziz, Van Baxter, Edward Vineyard (2019), “Cold Climate Heat Pump Using Tandem Vapor-Injection Compressors”. In: Johansson D., Bagge H., Wahlström Å. (eds) Cold Climate HVAC 2018. CCC 2018. Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Cham
• Bo Shen, Omar Abdelaziz, Keith Rice, Van Baxter and Hung Pham, “Cold Climate Heat Pumps Using Tandem Compressor,” conference paper in 2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference
• Van Baxter, Eckhard Groll and Bo Shen, 2014, “Air Source Heat Pumps for Cold Climate Applications: Recent U. S. R&D Results from IEA HPP Annex 41,” journal article in Federation of European Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA) European HVAC Journal
• Bo Shen, Omar Abdelaziz, Van Baxter and Keith Rice, 2014, “Compressor Selection and Equipment Sizing for Cold Climate Heat Pumps,” conference paper in 11th International Energy Agency Heat Pump Conference
• Van Baxter, Eckhard Groll, Omar Abdelaziz and Bo Shen, 2013,“IEA HPP Annex 41 – Cold Climate Heat Pumps: Task 1 Report – Literature and Technology Review – United States,” ORNL Report, ORNL/TM-2013/472
• Omar Abdelaziz and Bo Shen, 2012,“Cold Climates Heat Pump Design Optimization,” conference paper in ASHRAE 2012 Winter Conference
• Omar Abdelaziz and Bo Shen , 2011, “Development of a High-Performance Air Source Heat Pump for the U.S. Market,” conference paper in 10th International Energy Agency Heat Pump Conference
• Gannate Khowailed, Karen Sikes, and Omar Abdelaziz, 2011, “Preliminary Market Assessment for Cold Climate Heat Pumps,” ORNL Report

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¹  Energy Information Administration (EIA) Residential Consumption Survey (RECS) Table HC6.6 Space heating in U.S. homes by climate region, 2015.

²  EIA RECS Table CE6.1 Average annual household site space heating consumption by main heating fuel, 2015. Assuming the average site space heating consumption for all fuels is 53.1 million Btu per household * 3.5 million households = 0.18 quads.