Water Source Heat Pump

History and Development of Heat Pumps

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:36:45 +0000

The development of the heat pumps can be traced back to the mid 1800’s. In 1748 William Cullen demonstrated artificial refrigeration, 1834 Jacob Perkins built a practical refrigerator with diethyl ether, in 1852 Lord Kelvin describes the theory underlying the heat pump, and in 1857 Peter Ritter Von Rittinger developed and built the first heat pump. It wasn’t until 1915 in the United States, an engineer, Willis “Bill’ H. Carrier began to introduce sophisticated mechanical climate control that could be used in industry. He also designed and crafted installation of central heating and cooling for residential use.

Bill Carrier and his engineers discovered that water was a superior source for heat transfer. In the 1950’s experiments to transfer heat from water using heat pump technology became very practical and economical. This technology dominated the market, however there were serious maintenance problems due to the built up of water mineral deposits in the system.

During this same period (early 50’s), Chrysler Airtemp had developed an air conditioning system using Freon. Freon is a trademark name of DuPont for any Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), Hydrogenated CFC (HCFC, or Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant. This type heat pump eliminated the water towers and all of the maintenance that went with them. This same technology is still used in conventional air conditioners, however the use of ether was developed for use with heat pump.

By 1960 Air Source Heat Pumps began to be developed and marketed mainly in package units. Following close behind the development of the split system became a very practical heating and cooling system being marketed world wide.

As a footnote of interest, Chrysler Airtemp enabled the Chrysler Automobile Company to be one of the first to provide America with air conditioned automobiles on a large scale. The Packard Motor Car Company was the first to build air conditioners into its cars, beginning in 1939.

Residential Gas Absorption Heat Pumps

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:33:33 +0000

The Gas Absorption heat Pump (GAHP) is a type of heat pump that is essentially an air source heat pump that functions with natural gas in lieu electricity. Gas or propane is much more cost efficient, therefore they are becoming very popular and this trend will continue as the cost of energy rises.

Residential absorption heat pumps use an ammonia-water absorption cycle to provide heating and reverse this action in the cooling season. The standard heat pump the refrigerant is condensed in one coil to release its heat then the pressure is reduced and the refrigerant is evaporated to absorb the heat. Absorbing heat from the interior of your home provides cooling and the reverse in the winter by providing heat.

GAHP is most economical in the colder climates due to fact that there are more days to heat rather than days to cool. If you are in a warmer climate, it is cheaper to operate an electric powered heat pump; you have fewer days to be concerned with heating.

Water Source Heat Pump Systems

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:25:59 +0000

A Water Source Heat Pump is a system that transfers the temperature from the ground to your home and provides energy for heating and cooling using stored solar energy from the ground. This is accomplished by using a system of vertical coils where space is limited to a depth of up to 150m; reducing the land required on the surface. Water Source Heat Pumps take advantage of a completely free and renewable source of energy. Environmentally they have virtually no impact as they work with and not against nature reducing CO2 emissions. This system has low maintenance costs and can save up to 70% of your energy costs; not only saving you money but also adding value to your property.