Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1983

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Engineering Science

Major Professor

William T. Synder

Committee Members

William S. Johnson, Richard Jendrucko

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine if the energy efficiency of a residential heat pump could be increased by utilizing a fluidized-bed heat exchanger in place of a conventional heat exchanger on the outdoor side of the system. The fluidized-bed concept was selected because it has the potential to reduce power consumption by eliminating the frosting and defrosting losses while concurrently increasing the air-side heat transfer coefficient. However, because the fluidized-bed heat exchanger requires more fan power than conventional heat exchangers, it was necessary to determine if this gain more than offset the aforementioned reduction in power consumption.

The analysis was performed using the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Heat Pump Model to determine the annual performance factor, which is the ratio of the total heating and cooling energy delivered during the year to the total energy consumed. A comparison of the advanced system, which incorporates a fluidized-bed heat exchanger, to the base system was made in eleven cities located in the nine Bureau of Census regions. The purpose of the comparison was to determine the practicality of the advanced system in several regions where the dynamic losses, heating to cooling load ratio, and average operating temperatures will vary.

The results reveal an average energy savings of 476 kWh/yr, approximately a 5.2% reduction. The average dollar savings were $35.27/yr. Based on an average simple payback of 6.4 years, the estimated national market penetration was 32%, which yields a primary energy savings of 0.06 quads/yr.

The conclusion is that the fluidized-bed heat exchanger substituted for the outdoor heat exchanger in a residential heat pump could save substantial amounts of energywith highest savings occurring in areas of the country where the frosting and defrosting losses of a conventional heat pump are high, such as the northeast.

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