Johnson Controls unveils water-to-water screw heat pump

US-based industrial conglomerate Johnson Controls has introduced a water-to-water screw heat pump intended for use in small commercial buildings and district heating.

The company said its new York YVWH Water-to-Water Dual Variable Speed Screw Heat Pump is the first of its kind using the R-1234ze refrigerant in North America.

“R-1234ze is a refrigerant with an ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) of 1, enabling the YVWH to go considerably beyond the refrigerant regulations that go into effect starting January 1, 2025, as currently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” the company said in a statement.

The new product is currently available in a version with a 200-ton cooling capacity. It offers 703 output for cooling and 1,186 kW for heating.

The company said the system has a combined coefficient of performance of 4.1. It may also use the R-515b refrigerants and can reportedly provide a water temperature of up to 80 C, which the manufacturer is the highest ever reached for screw heat pumps.

“At that temperature, the unit can provide 4,050 thousand British thermal units (BTUs) per hour of heating while simultaneously providing 200 tons of chilled water cooling at 5 C,” the manufacturer said. “The YVWH also features variable-speed drive and has excellent turndown that allows it to run with as low as 25% of the design-heating load.”

The heat pump can be operated for heating or cooling separately or for simultaneous heating and cooling.