Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig

Heat pumps are widely regarded as a key technology for sustainable heating, offering a pathway to significantly reduce fossil fuel dependency and combat the climate crisis. However, replacing individual gas boilers with heat pumps in multi-unit residential buildings remains a substantial challenge d...

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Main Authors: Stephan Preisinger, Michael Lauermann, Micha Schwarzfurtner, Sebastian Fischer, Stephan Kling, Heinz Moisi, Christoph Reichl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/10/2455
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author Stephan Preisinger
Michael Lauermann
Micha Schwarzfurtner
Sebastian Fischer
Stephan Kling
Heinz Moisi
Christoph Reichl
author_facet Stephan Preisinger
Michael Lauermann
Micha Schwarzfurtner
Sebastian Fischer
Stephan Kling
Heinz Moisi
Christoph Reichl
author_sort Stephan Preisinger
collection DOAJ
description Heat pumps are widely regarded as a key technology for sustainable heating, offering a pathway to significantly reduce fossil fuel dependency and combat the climate crisis. However, replacing individual gas boilers with heat pumps in multi-unit residential buildings remains a substantial challenge despite its immense potential to lower urban greenhouse gas emissions. To address this, the following paper describes the development of a compact, modular heat pump system designed to replace conventional gas boilers, focusing on the building and testing of a prototype for such a modular heat pump system. The prototype supports multiple functionalities, including space heating, cooling, and domestic hot water production. The performance advantages of two different compressor technologies were exploited to optimize the efficiency of the complete system and the pressure lifts associated with applications for heating and domestic hot water production. Thus, measurements were conducted across a range of operating points, comparing different heat pump module types. In the case of the piston compressor module, the Carnot efficiency was in the range of 47.2% to 50.4%. The total isentropic efficiency for floor heating and domestic hot water production was above 0.45 for both piston and rotary compressors.
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id doaj-art-c11bee11629c49e7a1edca7a9885b2d2
institution Kabale University
issn 1996-1073
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Energies
spelling doaj-art-c11bee11629c49e7a1edca7a9885b2d22025-08-20T03:47:54ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-05-011810245510.3390/en18102455Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test RigStephan Preisinger0Michael Lauermann1Micha Schwarzfurtner2Sebastian Fischer3Stephan Kling4Heinz Moisi5Christoph Reichl6Ochsner Wäermepumpen GmbH, 4021 Linz, AustriaAIT—Austrian Institute of Technology, 1210 Vienna, AustriaAIT—Austrian Institute of Technology, 1210 Vienna, AustriaAIT—Austrian Institute of Technology, 1210 Vienna, AustriaAIT—Austrian Institute of Technology, 1210 Vienna, AustriaOchsner Wäermepumpen GmbH, 4021 Linz, AustriaAIT—Austrian Institute of Technology, 1210 Vienna, AustriaHeat pumps are widely regarded as a key technology for sustainable heating, offering a pathway to significantly reduce fossil fuel dependency and combat the climate crisis. However, replacing individual gas boilers with heat pumps in multi-unit residential buildings remains a substantial challenge despite its immense potential to lower urban greenhouse gas emissions. To address this, the following paper describes the development of a compact, modular heat pump system designed to replace conventional gas boilers, focusing on the building and testing of a prototype for such a modular heat pump system. The prototype supports multiple functionalities, including space heating, cooling, and domestic hot water production. The performance advantages of two different compressor technologies were exploited to optimize the efficiency of the complete system and the pressure lifts associated with applications for heating and domestic hot water production. Thus, measurements were conducted across a range of operating points, comparing different heat pump module types. In the case of the piston compressor module, the Carnot efficiency was in the range of 47.2% to 50.4%. The total isentropic efficiency for floor heating and domestic hot water production was above 0.45 for both piston and rotary compressors.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/10/2455modular heat pumpheat pump test rigisentropic efficiencylow refrigerant chargeR290gas boiler replacement
spellingShingle Stephan Preisinger
Michael Lauermann
Micha Schwarzfurtner
Sebastian Fischer
Stephan Kling
Heinz Moisi
Christoph Reichl
Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig
Energies
modular heat pump
heat pump test rig
isentropic efficiency
low refrigerant charge
R290
gas boiler replacement
title Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig
title_full Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig
title_fullStr Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig
title_short Experimental Investigation of Heat Pump Modules Limited to 150 g of Refrigerant R290 and a Dedicated Test Rig
title_sort experimental investigation of heat pump modules limited to 150 g of refrigerant r290 and a dedicated test rig
topic modular heat pump
heat pump test rig
isentropic efficiency
low refrigerant charge
R290
gas boiler replacement
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/10/2455
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