Thermoacoustic heat pump prototype for residential building heating
An international research team has fabricated a heat-driven thermoacoustic heat pump prototype that is claimed to achieve a heating capacity of 5.7 kW and a coefficient of performance of 1.4, with a heating temperature of 300 C and a heat-sink temperature of 55 C. The device uses medium/low-grade heat sources and is purportedly able to offer a complementary solution to the existing domestic heating methods.
New system design for PVT systems coupled with air-to-water reversible heat pump
Spanish scientists have proposed a new approach to combine photovoltaic-thermal panels with a reversible air-to-water heat pump in industrial buildings. The system is intended to provide space heating, cooling, domestic hot water, and electricity.
Slovakia offers $156.1 million for 2023 residential PV, heat pump rebates
The Slovakian authorities are offering €140 million ($156.1 million) in rebates for 2023 to cover up to 50% of the cost of buying and installing solar water heaters, heat pumps, biomass systems, solar-thermal collectors, and PV systems up to 10 kW in size.
The year it all changed
The European solar landscape changed forever in 2022 and managing the supply chain, grid, and permitting constraints will be key to a solar-dominated energy future for the continent.
Polish manufacturer launches 6-17 kW monobloc heat pump
Kensol said its new air-to-water heat pump uses a Panasonic Inverter DC twin rotary compressor and is able to achieve a maximum water temperature of 60 C.
New research claims PV-linked residential heat pumps offer short payback periods in northern China
A British research group has investigated the economic feasibility of solar-powered heat pumps in China and has found that the country’s northern regions offer the lowest payback time of less than three years. As for the country’s southern regions, however, the adoption of PV-linked heat pumps was found to be “uneconomical.”
Fraunhofer ISE develops propane heat pump using only 146 g of refrigerant
Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE have developed an optimized heat pump propane refrigeration circuit for single-family homes.
Northvolt owner enters heat pump business
Vargas, Northvolt’s parent company, has launched Aira, a new business venture that will sell heat pumps on a monthly fee basis. The venture is in the pilot phase in Italy and will expand to Germany and the United Kingdom later this year. It plans to start production in 2024 at a factory in Wroclaw, Poland.
Maxeon, Samsung to integrate heat pumps with residential PV
Maxeon and Samsung have developed a cloud-to-cloud system to transmit data from Maxeon’s PV panels and batteries to Samsung’s home platform. The heat pump integration enables the use of surplus PV energy to preheat rooms at specific times.
SMA, Samsung to integrate heat pumps with residential PV
Samsung and SMA are using a new cloud-to-cloud system that allows PV systems with SMA inverters to be integrated with Samsung heat pumps.
