Maldistribution in air-water heat pump evaporators. Part 2: Economic analysis of counteracting technologies

Gunda Mader, Björn Palm, Brian Elmegaard

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    In this study a methodology is applied to quantify the effect of evaporator maldistributionon operating costs of airewater heat pumps. The approach is used to investigate the cost-effectivenessof two technologies enabling to counteract maldistribution: a flash gasbypass setup and the individual superheat control in parallel evaporator channels. In thetotal cost of ownership analysis, different scenarios for climatic conditions, severity ofmaldistribution, and economic framework are considered. Results show that the flash gasbypass system is cost-effective only in a few conditions, namely severe maldistribution,high electricity prices, and colder climate. Investment in the individual superheat controltechnology, however, can be quickly amortized in many scenarios. For the warmer climatezone with a small number of operating hours counteracting of maldistribution does notpay off under the used economic assumptions.© 2014 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Journal of Refrigeration
    Volume50
    Pages (from-to)217–226
    Number of pages10
    ISSN0140-7007
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Keywords

    • Heat pump
    • Maldistribution
    • Annual performance
    • System modeling
    • Operating costs

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