
Reftronix Designs Prototype CO2 Heat Pump for Older Homes
Generating hot water up to 70°C, the heat pump is designed to replace fossil fuel furnaces.
Generating hot water up to 70°C, the heat pump is designed to replace fossil fuel furnaces.
The heat pump, using Vilter’s high-pressure single-screw compressor, has completed more than 6,700 hours of testing.
The AC540 brazed-plate heat exchanger family is designed to minimize the evaporator’s refrigerant charge and reduce the pressure drop on the secondary side, saving energy.
Adelaide contractor Jonathen Hindry attributes the growth to increased environmental awareness and high rate of solar PV systems in homes, which can be utilized to run the heat pumps.
The third high-temperature heat pump symposium will include presentations, panels and site visits, in Copenhagen on March 29-30.
The heat pump can replace a gas boiler in an existing home without expensive retrofitting, says Vattenfall.
The heating capacity and COP of CO2 heat pumps can decrease more then 25% during defrost, but optimal defrost can lower this to less than 10%, says Fenagy.
Electrification of buildings is expected to grow demand for heat pumps, which are currently HFC-based, according to CARB.
The deal is the largest order to date for the young company, launched in the summer of 2020.
CO2 is the best available technology for air-to-water heat pumps in the 0.5 to 5MW capacity range, according to Fenagy CEO Kim G Christensen.