| Abstract: | The operation of a three‐heat‐reservoir heat pump is viewed as a production process with exergy as its output. The relations between the optimal profit and COP (coefficient of performance), and the COP bound at the maximum profit of the heat pump are derived based on a general heat transfer law. The results provide a theoretical basis for developing and utilizing a variety of heat pumps. The focus of this paper is to search the compromised optimization between economics (profit) and the utilization factor (COP) for finite‐time endoreversible thermodynamic cycles. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
