New approach to integrate PV-powered heat pumps into greenhouses
Scientists have proposed to use PV energy and heat pump-driven HVAC system in greenhouses conceived to grow tomatoes in the Mediterranean area. The system was found to have a payback time of only 2.9 years in southern Spain.
Weekend Read. COP: A solar flop?
Tripling clean energy generation capacity to 11 TW by 2030 was a leading pledge from the United Nations’ (UN) climate change conference in Dubai. With few details about infrastructure and energy storage and no clear PV targets, however, it is hard to judge the effectiveness of the 28th global Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting. Angela Skujins considers possible impacts for the solar industry.
Trane debuts air-to-water heat pumps
The new products use propane (R290) as a refrigerant and have heating and cooling capacities ranging from 8 kW to 30 kW.
Coupling ground-source heat pumps with heat storage, borehole heat exchangers
Scientists from China have developed a novel optimization method for medium-depth ground source heat pumps, using an improved chaos particle swarm optimization. They coupled it with either a heat storage tank or a shallow borehole heat exchanger and found that both system typologies increase the heat pump’s coefficient of performance.
Hybridizing PVT energy with heat pumps, borehole storage
A European research group has tested an energy system combining PVT collectors, a water-to-water heat pump and borehole thermal energy storage in an Italian swine farm and has found the proposed system can completely replace fossil fuel-based power generation.
Façade-integrated R290 split-type heat pump for domestic hot water
Researchers in Austria have developed a new heat pump system for residential applications that reportedly achieves a coefficient of performance ranging from 2.82 to and 3.11 at an outdoor air temperature of 10 C and 20 C, respectively. They also found the system was able to supply the comfort conditions at all tested outdoor temperatures.
Havells India unveils heat pump water heater
Havells India’s new 3.5 kW HP30 White Silver (300 L) system has a rated power input of 940 W. The manufacturer says it is ideal for large households.
Delayed EU heat pump plan puts EUR 7 billion at risk, warn 61 industry chiefs
Sixty-one heat pump industry chiefs have signed a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning that delaying the EU Heat Pump Action Plan jeopardizes a key net-zero European industry.
How to combine residential heat pumps with PV, battery storage
New research from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) has shown that combining rooftop PV systems with battery storage and heat pumps can improve heat pump efficiency while reducing reliance on grid electricity.
New research shows potential of hydrogen-source heat pumps
A new research project, thought to be the first to assess hydrogen as an energy source for heat pumps, has found that hydrogen-backed heat pumps could be an eco-friendly option for the building sector and support decarbonization in line with the UK’s net-zero targets.
