Lead Performer: Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Oak Ridge, TN
July 10, 2023
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Lead Performer: Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Oak Ridge, TN
Partners:
-- Nortek Global HVAC, LLC
-- Emerson Climate Technologies
-- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
-- Syracuse University
DOE Total Funding: $700,000
Cost Share: $200,000
Project Term: October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2023
Funding Type: CRADA
Project Objective
This project work aims to develop a prototype CCIHP and verify the performance metrics by laboratory and field tests. The project team includes ORNL and Nortek Global HVAC. ORNL will lead the product development and laboratory investigations, while Nortek Global HVAC will lead the product fabrication, follow up activities in manufacturing and commercialization, and extend the CCIHP prototype to a full product family. A multistage scroll compressor will be developed and optimized for heating performance in cold/very cold climates by Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions. In the first year, ORNL will collect design conditions by conducting building energy simulations using template buildings in NY climate. Next, ORNL will conduct model-based design to optimize the system design and sub-components. The equipment and building models will be used to develop the control strategy including grid-responsive and weather-forecast-based controls. The project team will obtain the compressor and other components and fabricate the first CCIHP laboratory prototype. In the second year, ORNL will verify the performance targets via laboratory testing. A second round of design improvements will further improve the efficiency and reduce the cost based on findings from investigating the initial system. We will fabricate a CCIHP breadboard unit for field investigations in New York. At the end of the project, ORNL will initialize one field test in NY, install the unit and monitor the field investigations for the following year. The field investigations aim to demonstrate performance and reliability in the real world. The proposed concept builds on prior technical successes and includes four new innovations: (1) multistage compressors with three capacity levels without requiring an inverter, (2) utilization of condenser waste heat and extra compressor capacity for heating domestic hot water, (3) cost reduction by combining a CCHP and an ASIHP to create an innovative CCIHP, and (4) integration of enhanced thermal storage and grid-responsive control technologies.
Project Impact
The project addresses the problem of developing an attractive low-carbon, cold climate integrated heat pump (CCIHP) solution for residential space heating and domestic hot water in cold climate zones. The CCIHP prototype will have a rated cooling capacity > 36,000 Btu/hr., with a HSPF > 11.0, SEER > 16.0, COP at -8°F larger than 2.0 when delivering the maximum capacity, providing >75% rated capacity down to -5°F ambient temperature if rated at the compressor low stage. The CCIHP is multifunctional, capable of space cooling, space heating, enhanced dehumidification, and water heating. Additionally, enhanced thermal storage, grid-responsive, and weather-forecast control technologies will be integrated to the product. In a typical northern single-family home, the CCIHP will achieve > 30% annual energy and cost savings, in comparison to a suite of ENERGY STAR air source heat pump and electric water heater. The cost saving will result in a payback period shorter than five years. EERE’s strategic support in this technology will drastically reduce U.S. energy requirement for space heating. Today, the residential and small commercial buildings in the U.S. together use approximately 4.9 quads of annual energy for these applications. The proposed technology can save ~0.55 quads (550 TBtu) out of that energy.
Contacts
DOE Technology Manager: Payam Delgoshaei
Lead Performer: Bo Shen