Lead Performer: Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Oak Ridge, TN
Partner: University of Florida – Gainesville, FL
DOE Total Funding: $450,000
Project Term: October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2019
Funding Type: Lab Award

Project Objective

Validated, robust analytical simulation tools are critical to facilitate system design and optimization, a key step to market readiness of early-stage research and development efforts on gas heat pump based technologies. This project is designed to advance gas heat pump system analyses tool development.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will validate, extend and refine a three-fluid membrane-based heat and mass exchanger (HMX) model, utilizing data from a current lab prototype membrane heat pump water heater. The ORNL team will then add their updated model to the ORNL SorpSim sorption systems modeling platform, to conduct a case study membrane heat pump water heater system analysis.

This project builds upon earlier simulation work at ORNL, and also complements current early-stage research and development efforts underway on gas heat pump based technologies at the lab.

Project Impact

U.S. residential and commercial buildings consumed 1.52 quads and 4.73 quads of natural gas for water heating and space heating, respectively, in 2017. Most of those 6.25 quads of natural gas for buildings water heating and space heating (1.52 + 4.73) are presently consumed by gas-combustion furnaces and water heaters. If advanced gas-based heat pump technologies with 45% energy savings replaced existing space heating and water heater stock, the total potential source energy savings would be 2.8 quads per year.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Antonio Bouza
Lead Performer: Van D. Baxter, Oak Ridge National Laboratory