German heating specialist Vaillant and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) have presented a new heat pump concept at the ISH Frankfurt trade fair this week.
“The new device is the result of many years of close collaboration between us and Vaillant,” the Fraunhofer ISE said in a statement. “Eight years ago, we began the project of developing a heat pump that could be flexibly installed indoors and connected to existing heating systems using climate-friendly propane (R290) refrigerant.”
The new system relies on a thermal sensor based on an adsorbent-coated sensor layout developed by Vaillant in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (Fraunhofer IPM).
This technology is reportedly effective in preventing propane from forming an ignitable mixture with air outside the device. This mechanism uses a physical and technical principle known as adsorption, which, in the event of damage, prevents propane from escaping from the refrigeration circuit to adhere to the surfaces of highly porous structures made of activated carbon.
“Thanks to this principle, the heat pump can be installed anywhere in the building,” the Fraunhofer ISE said. “Furthermore, it makes it ideal for replacing heating systems in existing buildings.”
The heat pump system was developed under the SafeSense research project, which ran from 2020 and 2022.
“The goal of the collaborative project is to ensure that heat pumps can operate safely throughout their life cycles, thereby improving the market acceptance for the use of heat pumps with natural refrigerants to provide heating and hot water in single- and multi-family homes while also improving the eco-friendliness of heat pump technology,” the webpage of the research project reads.
The Fraunhofer ISE has also been developing a refrigeration circuit for heat pumps that use propane as a refrigerant in the research project “LC150 Development of a Refrigerant-reduced Heat Pump Module with Propane”, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).
In the frame of this project, the Fraunhofer ISE developed a brine-water cooling circuit using components available on the market. “The circuit requires only 150 grams of propane for a heating capacity of 8 kW, which corresponds to a refrigerant reduction of 75% compared to systems on the market,” the research institute said. “A heat pump based on this concept could be placed inside the home, as a refrigerator, without any additional safety precautions.”
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