Highlights in heat pumps and refrigerant mixtures from Chillventa Congressing 2014

Chillventa Congressing, part of the leading international trade fair for refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pumps, featured presentations by speakers from around the world. Particularly hot topics at the event included energy efficient combined heating and cooling and heat recovery with heat pumps and R744 as a refrigerant mixture component to increase cost efficiency.

 

 

Through custom design, the market for heat pumps can be extended to higher temperatures to effectively use waste heat to maximise the benefits of the system.

 

Phillip Nelissen from Emerson Climate Technologies GmbH provided a comprehensive overview of heat pump application potential in non-domestic, specifically, industrial, applications in Europe. Nelissen suggested that non-domestic applications of heat pump technology have the potential to spark an energy revolution. Specifically he said that the European Union (EU) should consider industrial heat pumps in their environmental plans to capitlaise on energy savings through combined heating, cooling and heating recovery. 

 

Eric Delforge from Mayekawa trusts heat pumps will play an increasingly important role in industry heat processing. Citing examples from fields that have operated heat pumps for many years, Delforge suggests that end users select heat pumps because of the short return on investment. Policy makers also need to be made aware of the potential for heat pump applications in residential and space heating to achieve high energy efficiency and safety. 

 

Kenneth Hoffman from GEA presented on optimising heat recovery from industrial processes with heat pumps with 200-15,000 kW heating capacity.. Hoffman believes ammonia systems, with their high efficiency and excellent return on investment compared to gas boilers, should be the preferred option in industrial applications.

 

Presentations at Chillventa Congressing also provided a global market overview for heat pumps with a special focus on European, North American and Asian markets. Thomas Nowak of the European Heat Pump Association presented that in Europe, heat pump technology has a 15% market share in the heating market. From 2005 – 2008, the market experienced rapid growth. The growth rate hasslowed since 2009 however, due to the phase out of supporting subsidies in France and the increase of the value added tax (VAT) in Germany. Currently, the French market drives major growth, with air source heat pumps dominating the market. 

 

Overall, given the benefit of heat pumps in energy saving and security of supply, it is widely accepted that the faster implementation of heat pump technology is necessary in order to meet the ambitious energy and climate targets of the EU. 

 

Gerald Groff of Groff Associates explained that for North America, the market share of heat pumps continues to grow. In 2013, heat pumps experienced a 15% increase and captured an 18% market share, with gas and oil boilers sales declining. The North American market is mature and will continue to grow as policy standards and environmental concerns drive technology developments. 

 

 

As the largest energy consumer in the world, heat pump water heaters are becoming increasingly important as a solution for avoiding CO2 emissions in Asia. According to presenter Takeshi Hikawa of the Heat Pump and Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan, the Eco Cute grant programme, in place since 2002, has particularly influenced growth in the Japanese market if CO2 heat pumps. 

 

In China ground source heat pumps are supported by the Government as an energy saving technology, and as a result, China has become the leading market for this technology. In the near future shipment numbers are predicted to be the largest in the world. 

 

Tobias Göpfert of the Technical University of Dresden spoke about R744 as a component in mixed refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP). Specifically, Göpfert discussed combining R744, which is an inexpensive and non-flammable refrigerant, with R41 (methyl fluoride), hydrocarbons (R290 and R600a) or dimethyl ether (DME) in order to maximise efficiency in those situations in which R744 is less effective as a sole refrigerant. Research has found that mixing refrigerants increases cost efficiency and provides environmentally friendly solutions. In addition, a variety of mixtures with R744 can be developed, many of which are non-flammable. These mixtures have a high condensation temperature and a low evaporating pressure.