Heat Pumps

Futraheat has developed a 300 kW/1.5 MW heat pump that can reportedly deliver steam up to 130 C and reach a coefficient of performance of 6.2. The first prototype was deployed at a brewery in Sussex.

New research from Germany shows that the optimal size of residential heat pumps in retrofit buildings can be achieved without factoring in their potential connection to a PV system and related control strategies. An optimal sizing strategy, by contrast, should not neglect electricity price assumptions.

The U.S. heating specialist said its Vilter VQ95 heat pump is an ideal solution for district heating and industrial processes. It has a heating capacity of 1 MW to 5 MW per skid and can reportedly provide a temperature of up to 95 C.

The novel heat pump concept should enable ready-to-use energy storage even in already existing installations. It features capabilities that easily detect self-consumption of PV energy, maximizing the amount of energy that can be produced and consumed on-site

Portugal-based Effizency, a developer of sales software for solar PV and heat pump solution providers, has launched a new web-based simulator module that its customers can use to deliver initial price quotes and savings estimates to potential buyers.

UK-based Caldera has developed a new heat storage technology that can reportedly convert on-site generated solar power into on-demand heat, thus replacing conventional gas boilers. The system uses a composite of recycled aluminum and volcanic rocks to store heat at up to 500 C and produce steam.

Researchers in Denmark built a magnetocaloric heat pump prototype for heating purposes in residential buildings. Although more work is needed to bring the system closer to commercial maturity, it can reportedly achieve a 36.9 % heating power improvement with measurement feedback control.

The European Heat Pump Association’s (EHPA) recent two-day event in Brussels came as heat pump sales across 13 European countries fell 47% year on year. Attendees discussed how policy and the industry can reverse the decline, stressing the need to better communicate the benefits of heat pumps to customers.

Western New York Energy says it will install an industrial steam-generating heat pump at its ethanol plant in Medina, New York, with a maximum output temperature of 215 C and a coefficient of performance of 2.7.

Panasonic will integrate new smart thermostats and an energy management software in its Aquarea system from November. The new solutions are also designed to enable PV system owners to manage their heat pumps based on local weather forecasts.