Posted by
china heat pump on Tuesday, November 03, 2009 4:43:50 AM
Until the 1990s, the refrigerants were often chlorofluorocarbons
such as R-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane), one in a class of several
refrigerants using the brand name Freon, a trademark of DuPont. Its
manufacture was discontinued in 1995 because of the damage that CFCs
cause to the ozone layer if released into the atmosphere. One
widely-adopted replacement refrigerant is the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)
known as R-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane). R-134a is not as efficient
as the R-12 it replaced (in automotive applications) and therefore,
more energy is required to operate systems utilizing R-134a than those
using R-12. Other substances such as liquid R-717 ammonia are widely
used in large-scale systems, or occasionally the less corrosive but
more flammable propane or butane, can also be used.
Since 2001, carbon dioxide, R-744, has increasingly been used,
utilizing the transcritical cycle. In residential and commercial
applications, the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) R-22 is still widely
used, however, HFC R-410A does not deplete the ozone layer and is being
used more frequently. Hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, or plain air is used
in the Stirling cycle, providing the maximum number of options in
environmentally friendly gases. More recent refrigerators are now
exploiting the R600A which is isobutane, and does not deplete the ozone
and is friendly to the environment.
Air source heat pump
are relatively easy (and inexpensive) to install and have therefore
historically been the most widely used heat pump type. However, they
suffer limitations due to their use of the outside air as a heat source
or sink. The higher temperature differential during periods of extreme
cold or heat leads to declining efficiency, as explained above. In mild
weather, COP may be around 4.0, while at temperatures below around −8°C
(17°F) an air-source heat pump
can achieve a COP of 2.5 or better, which is considerably more than the
COP that may be achieved by conventional heating systems. The average
COP over seasonal variation is typically 2.5-2.8,[9] and high
efficiency model in Japan over 6.0(2.8kW) written in the IPCC 4th
Working Group III report chapter