The goal of the GreenHP project is to investigate and develop a new highly efficient heating system based on a high-capacity air-to-water heat pump for retrofitting multi-family houses and commercial buildings. Using the natural refrigerant propane (R290), the consortium aims for a heat pump system with a high operating efficiency to provide a heating capacity of 30 kW. In this system, all-aluminium micro-channel heat exchangers are used both as condenser and as evaporator to increase efficiency and minimise the refrigerant charge. The innovative design and the use of aluminium in the condenser allow an improved heat exchange compared to conventional steel designs and a significant weight reduction. On the air side of the evaporator highly efficient air fins were developed that are less sensitive to icing and easy to defrost. On the refrigerant side a novel approach using a bionic distributor was applied to evenly load the micro-channel tubes with propane and to allow further volume reduction by replacing the commonly used distributing manifolds.
展开▼
