Performance analysis of a CO2 heat pump water heating system under a daily change in a standardized demand

Air-to-water heat pumps using CO₂ as a natural refrigerant have been developed and commercialized. They are expected to contribute to energy saving in residential hot water supply. The objective of the research is to analyze the performance of a water heating system composed of a CO₂ heat pump and a hot water storage tank by numerical simulation. In this paper, the system performance is analyzed under a daily change in a standardized hot water demand, and some features of the temperature distribution in the storage tank and the system performance criteria such as coefficient of performance, storage and system efficiencies, and volumes of stored and unused hot water are investigated. It turns out that the daily change in the hot water demand does not significantly affect the daily averages of the COP, and storage and system efficiencies, while it significantly affects not only the daily change in the volume of hot water unused after the tapping mode, but also that in the volume of hot water stored after the charging mode. The influence of the daily change in the hot water demand on the volumes of stored and unused hot water is clarified quantitatively.     

Application of a chemical heat pump to a cogeneration system

The feasibility of a proposed system that combines a magnesium oxide/water chemical heat pump and a diesel engine as a cogeneration system is discussed based on experimental results. The combined system is intended to utilize the waste heat discharge from the engine by means of the chemical heat pump and to level the heat supply load of the engine, allowing enhanced energy utilization. The thermal performance of the chemical heat pump in the cogeneration system is estimated based on the results of a packed‐bed experiment. The estimation indicates that by storing the waste heat from the engine during low demand periods, the cogeneration system can produce more than several times the standard thermal output of the diesel engine during peak demand periods. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal Radiation and Heat Source Effects on a MHD Nanofluid Past a Vertical Plate in a Rotating System with Porous Medium

This article studies the effect of thermal radiation on a MHD free convection flow of a nanofluid bounded by a semi‐infinite vertical plate with a constant heat source in a rotating frame of reference. The plate is assumed to oscillate in time with constant frequency so that the solutions of the boundary layer are the same oscillatory type. The dimensionless governing equations for this investigation are solved analytically using the regular perturbation method. The effect of various important parameters entering into the problem on velocity and temperature fields within the boundary layer are discussed for three different water‐based nanofluids such as Cu, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ with the help of graphs. The predicted results clearly indicate that the presence of nanoparticles in the base fluid enhances the heat transfer process significantly. The present work shows the need for immediate attention in next‐generation solar film collectors, heat‐exchanger technology, material processing exploiting vertical surface, geothermal energy storage, and all those processes which are greatly exaggerated by heat‐enhancement concepts. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21101     

Heat transfer characteristics of a reservoir embedded loop heat pipe (2nd report,Influence of noncondensable gas on heat transfer characteristics)

High‐powered satellites need larger heat rejection areas. A deployable radiator is one of the key technologies for a high‐powered satellite bus. A Reservoir Embedded Loop Heat Pipe (RELHP) is a two‐phase heat transfer device that constitutes the deployable radiator. RELHP has an evaporator core which is used as a liquid reservoir to enhance operational reliability. For use on satellites, RELHP is required to have a lifetime greater than 10 years. In the case of conventional heat pipes, it is generally known that noncondensable gas (NCG) has worse heat transport characteristics. On the other hand, the influence of NCG on a RELHP is not still obvious. This paper presents the heat transport characteristics of RELHP for the case of changing NCG volume by experiment and calculation. It was found that NCG increases temperature rise at the evaporator. NCG volume in a RELHP has a great influence on heat transport characteristics due to the reservoir pressure increase caused by NCG. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 36(8): 459–473, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20181     

Study on waste heat recovery from exhaust smoke in cogeneration system using woody biomass fuels

In recent years, fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas have become limited resources. In addition, bad effects caused by excessive carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have now begun destroying our global environment seriously. Since current living and economical standards depend strongly on the fossil fuels, it is necessary to realize a new society that utilizes biomass as one of major sources of energy. In this background, we manufactured a practical Stirling engine using woody biomass fuels for the first time in Japan in 2005. Further we proposed a unique cogeneration system with the Stirling engine that uses woody biomass fuels such as sawdust, firewood, and wood pellets. In this cogeneration system, 43% of the input energy is wasted as heat loss from the exhaust smoke into the atmosphere. Therefore we tried to recover the waste heat by using a thermoelectric conversion module in this study. In this report, the results of basic performance test and demonstration experiment as a cogeneration system combined the waste heat recovery with a power generating system are reported. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20390     

Thermodynamic analysis of a lithium bromide/water absorption system for cooling and heating applications

Absorption systems have the potential of employing thermal energy such as waste heat to produce both chilled water and hot water for building cooling and heating applications. In the present study, a lithium bromide/water (LiBr/H₂O) absorption system for cooling and heating applications was analysed on the basis of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Simulation was employed to determine the coefficient of performance (COP) and the exergetic efficiency of the absorption system under different operating conditions such as the heat source, cooling water, chilled water, and supply hot water temperatures. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feasibility study of a district energy system with seasonal water thermal storage

In this paper, performance of three types of district heating/cooling and hot water supply system with natural and unused energy utilization were examined by using system simulation. An area zoned for both commercial and residential buildings was chosen for this study. The first system is the conventional system in which an electric driven turbo chiller and a gas-fired boiler are installed as the heat source. This is considered as the reference system. Two alternative systems utilize waste heat from space cooling and heating. One is designed based on short-term heat recovery and the other employs the concept of an annual cycle energy system (i.e. seasonal heat recovery). All of the three systems use solar thermal energy for hot water supply to the residential zone. The index for evaluation is the coefficient of performance of the overall system, based on primary energy. As a result, it was found that the seasonal storage system could decrease the energy consumption by about 26% and the short-term heat recovery system could decrease it by about 16% compared with the reference system. In designing the heat recovery system, a balance of cooling/heating demand is an important factor. Therefore a sensitivity analysis of performance of the overall system and the seasonal thermal storage for several load patterns was performed. From these results, it was found that if the amount of heating/cooling demand were well balanced, an improvement of energy performance could be achieved and the utilization factor of the seasonal tank would become higher. Furthermore, the volume of the seasonal storage tank could be reduced.     

Performance and economics of annual storage solar heating systems

Annual storage is used with active solar heating systems to permit storage of summer-time solar heat for winter use. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive computer simulation study of the performance of active solar heating systems with long-term hot water storage. A unique feature of this study is the investigation of systems used to supply backup heat to passive solar and energy-conserving buildings, as well as to meet standard heating and hot water loads.

Findings show that system performance increases linearly as storage volume increases, up to the point where the storage tank is large enough to store all heat collected in summer. This point, the point of “unconstrained operation”, is the likely economic optimum. In contrast to diurnal storage systems, systems with annual storage show only slightly diminishing returns as system size increases. Annual storage systems providing nearly 100% solar space heat may cost the same or less per unit heat delivered as a 50 per cent diurnal solar system. Also in contrast to diurnal systems, annual storage systems perform efficiently in meeting the load of a passive or energy-efficient building. A breakeven cost 4¢–10¢/kWh is estimated for optimal 100 per cent solar heating in the U.S.A.     

Demand side management for water heating installations in South African commercial buildings

The largest percentage of the sanitary hot water used in South African buildings is heated by means of direct electrical resistance heaters. This is one of the major contributing factors of the undesirable high morning and afternoon peaks imposed on the national electricity supply grid. Water heating therefore continues to be of concern to ESKOM, the country's only electrical utility company. The so‐called in‐line water heating system design methodology was developed to address this problem. This paper investigates the potential impact of in‐line systems on the national peak electrical demand. A computer simulation model was developed that combines a deterministic mathematical model with a statistical approach in order to predict the diversity factors associated with both the existing and in‐line design methodologies. A study was also conducted to estimate the total installed water heating capacity in the national commercial building sector. This figure can be combined with the simulated diversity factor to determine the peak electrical demand. The deterministic model includes the detailed simulation of the hot water storage vessel, the electrical heater and the system control algorithm. The mathematical model for the storage vessel is based on an electrical analogue approach that includes the effects of conduction as well as forced and natural convection. This model was verified extensively with the aid of laboratory measurements and compared with existing storage vessel models. It was found that the new storage vessel model could predict the supply temperature within 2 per cent for a system configuration with the heater in parallel outside the reservoir and within 12 per cent for a configuration with the heater situated inside the reservoir. This compares favourably with existing models found in the literature. The complete simulation based on the statistical approach showed that extensive application of the new design methodology could result in a reduction of approximately 75 MW in the total maximum peak demand imposed on the electricity supply grid in wintertime. This is 58 per cent of the current peak demand due to commercial water heating and 12.5 per cent of the peak load reduction target set by ESKOM until the year 2015. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of snow melting using geothermal energy assisted by heat storage during seasons

Numerical simulation programs were developed for estimating temperature field and snow depth on a snow‐melting system using geothermal energy assisted by heat storage during seasons. The system utilized a group of piles underground as a heat exchanger and heat dissipation pipes near the pavement surface, realizing underground solar heat storage from the surface through the seasons. Verification experiments for this system were conducted not only in a relatively mild snowy region, Fukui, but also in a frigid region, Sapporo. Numerical simulation results demonstrated the existence of an optimum space of a group of piles, where snow melting power becomes maximal. The obtained simulation results showed good agreement with the experimental data of both regions, demonstrating the utility and validity of the programs. Also shown was that the proposed system can melt snow well in a frigid region, Sapporo, without the help of a heat pump. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 42(8): 724–744, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20393     

Influence of supply and return water temperatures on the energy consumption of a district cooling system

In a district heating and cooling system, for example, the Beijing combined heating, cooling and power (CHCP) system studied here, high temperature water generated by cogeneration plants circulates through a network between the plants and the heating substations. In heating substations, high temperature supply water from the network drives absorption chillers for air-conditioning in the summer, satisfies space heating demands in the winter and provides domestic hot water using heat exchangers throughout the year. This paper studies the significant effect of the parameters, i.e. the supply and return water temperatures in the network, on the CHCP system energy consumption for cooling and for domestic hot water.     

A Crank–Nicolson Scheme with ADI to Compute Heat Conduction in Laser Surface Hardening

In this article, a two‐dimensional (2D) numerical model of a Crank–Nicolson scheme with alternating‐direction implicit (ADI) is developed for a heat conduction model in the laser surface hardening process. A numerical solution is compared to the analytical solution and shows a better suitability. Numerical experiment of the repetitive heating is carried out using the present model in order to investigate influences of processing parameters on temperature profiles. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 43(6): 522–541, 2014; Published online 11 November 2013 in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21085     

A small-scale silica gel-water adsorption system for domestic air conditioning and water heating by the recovery of solar energy

A small-scale silica gel-water adsorption system with modular adsorber, which utilizes solar energy to achieve the cogeneration of domestic air conditioning and water heating effect, is proposed and investigated in this paper. A heat recovery process between two adsorbers and a mass recovery process between two evaporators are adopted to improve the overall cooling and heating performance. First, the adsorption system is tested under different modes (different mass recovery, heat recovery, and cogeneration time) to determine the optimal operating conditions. Then, the cogeneration performance of domestic cooling and water heating effect is studied at different heat transfer fluid temperatures. The results show that the optimal time for cogeneration, mass recovery, and heat recovery are 600 s, 40 s, and 40 s, respectively. When the inlet temperature of hot water is around 85°C, the largest cooling power and heating power are 8.25 kW and 21.94 kW, respectively. Under the condition of cooling water temperature of 35°C, the obtained maximum COP_c, COP_h, and SCP of the system are 0.59, 1.39, and 184.5 W/kg, respectively.     

A case study on cogeneration

Princeton University is considering the installation of a new central energy supply system. The existing system burns natural gas or residual oil to produce low temperature steam at 232 °C and 1.62 MPa. This steam powers compression chillers, supplies process heat, and drives a small backpressure turbine, the exhaust of which is used for hot water and space heat on campus. The steam demand varies from approximately 7 to 70 MW_t, and the electric demand from 3 to 8 MW_e. Energy prices have escalated sharply during the past decade, and recent changes in utility regulations have created favorable conditions for cogeneration. Therefore, a study was undertaken to evaluate reasonable alternatives for reducing energy costs. We study the most promising candidate systems: a gas turbine cogeneration system and a coal-fired fluidized bed boiler with a new, high temperature steam cogeneration system. A diesel cogeneration system is also investigated, but it turns out to be less attractive in this particular application because much of the cogenerated heat has too low a temperature. The savings are critically dependent on the economic scenario, in particular the escalation rates for energy prices. A wide price range for the various energy forms has been considered and the results for life-cycle savings and for rate of return are presented in compact graphical format. Under the most likely economic scenarios both the coal/steam system and the gas turbine offer rates of return in the range of 10–20% above inflation.     

Hydrothermal Behavior of a Ferrofluid in a Corrugated Channel in the Presence of a Magnetic Field

In this paper, results of applying a non‐uniform magnetic field on a dilute ferrofluid (water and 3% vol. Fe₃O₄) flow in a corrugated channel under a constant heat flux boundary condition have been reported. The thermal behavior of the flow is investigated numerically using a two‐phase mixture model and control volume technique. It is concluded that using a magnetic field with a negative gradient on a nanofluid flow in corrugated channels can be proposed as a suitable method to achieve higher heat transfer performance and augment the heat transfer coefficient and also reduces the wall temperature. This method can lead to the design of more compact heat exchangers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 43(1): 80–92, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21060     

Experimental characterisation of a novel heat exchanger for a solar hot water application under indoor and outdoor conditions

The performance of a novel heat exchanger unit (‘Solasyphon’) developed for a solar hot water system was experimentally investigated under indoor and outdoor operating conditions. The ‘Solasyphon’ can be easily integrated to an existing single-coil hot water cylinder avoiding the need for costly twin-coil solar hot water storage. A series of tests were conducted under controlled indoor and real outdoor conditions to test and compare the performance of the ‘Solasyphon’ system with a traditional twin-coil (‘coil’) system. The analysis was based upon experimental data collected under various operating conditions including different primary supply temperatures (solar simulated); heating from ambient, heating with a partially stratified storage from ambient and finally under no draw-off and standard draw-off patterns. The outdoor testing was carried out on both systems separately over Summer/Autumn conditions in Northern Ireland. The results showed that the ‘Solasyphon’ system is more effective compared to a traditional twin-coil system for a domestic application where intermittent hot water demand is predominant and under a transient solar input particularly on intermediate or poor solar days. The ‘Solasyphon’ delivered solar heated water directly to the top of the storage producing a stratified supply at a useable temperature. The twin-coil system was found to be more efficient than the ‘Solasyphon’ system under a prolonged heating period.     

Analysis of the impact of heat-to-power ratio for a SOFC-based mCHP system for residential application under different climate regions in Europe

In this paper, the ability of a micro combined heat and power (mCHP) system to cover the heat and electricity demand of a single-family residence is investigated. A solid oxide fuel cell based mCHP system coupled with a hot water storage tank is analyzed. The energy profiles of single-family households in different European countries are evaluated. The range of Heat-to-Power Ratio for the SOFC-based mCHP System of 0.5–1.5 shows good agreement with the hot water, space heating and electricity demand during the warm seasons across Europe. This suggests that the fuel cell system should be sized according to the summer energy demand. The winter energy demand shows a Heat-to-Power Ratio which cannot be covered by the mCHP unit alone. To ensure that the mCHP system meets both the thermal and electrical energy demand over the entire year, an auxiliary boiler and a hot water storage tank need to be coupled with the mCHP unit. It is further noted that the size of the auxiliary boiler should match the larger winter space heating demand. In contrast, the hot water tank volume should be sized according to the warm season space heating requirement, when space heating is not required but electricity and hot water are still in demand. This maximizes the running time of the fuel cell, and thus the economic and environmental benefit of the system, without wasting produced heat.     

Numerical simulation of high‐temperature phase change heat storage system

In this paper, numerical results pertaining to cyclic melting and freezing of an encapsulated phase‐change material (PCM) have been reported. The cyclic nature of the present problem is relevant to latent heat thermal energy storage system used to power solar Brayton engines in space. In particular, a physical and numerical model of the single‐tube phase change heat storage system was developed. A high‐temperature eutectic mixture of LiF‐CaF₂ was used as the PCM and dry air was used as the working fluid. Numerical results were compared with available experimental data. The trends were in close agreement. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 33(1): 32–41, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10132     

Numerical investigation on the use of nanofluids in natural convection heat exchangers using a mixture‐phase approach

In the present research, the behavior of a Newtonian nanofluid (water–Al₂O₃) in a mixture phase model approach is numerically examined. The process of heating is done in two different ways. Deterioration was found in the mean Nusselt number of a nanofluid in the mixture‐phase model approach when compared to the mean Nusselt number of pure water. However, in the single‐phase model there was an increase in the Nusselt number when compared to the Nusselt number of pure water. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20383     

Performance assessment of a Stirling engine plant for local micro‐cogeneration

In this paper, we evaluate the viability of a 9.5‐kW_e wooden pellet‐fueled Stirling engine‐based micro‐cogeneration plant as a substitute for small‐scale district heating. The district heating systems against which the micro‐cogeneration plant is compared are based either on a pellet‐fueled boiler or a ground‐source heat pump. The micro‐cogeneration and district heating plants are compared in terms of primary energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and feasibility of the investment. The comparison also considers an optimally operated individual 0.7‐kW_e pellet‐fueled Stirling engine micro‐cogeneration system with exhaust gas heat recovery. The study is conducted in two different climates and contributes to the knowledge base by addressing: (i) hourly changes in the Finnish electricity generation mix; and (ii) uncertainty related to what systems are used as reference and the treatment of displaced grid electricity. Our computational results suggest that when operated at constant power, the 9.5‐kW_e Stirling engine plant results in reduced annual primary energy use compared with any of the alternative systems. The results are not sensitive to climate or the energy efficiency or number of buildings. In comparison with the pellet‐fueled district heating plant, the annual use of primary energy and CO₂ emissions are reduced by a minimum of 25 and 19%, respectively. Owing to a significant displacement of grid electricity, the system's net primary energy consumption appears negative when the total built area served by the plant is less than 1200 m². On the economic side, the maximum investment cost threshold of a CHP‐based district heating system serving 10 houses or more can typically be positive when compared with oil and pellet systems, but negative when compared with a corresponding heat pump system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.