Energy saving performance of distributed heating and cooling system

An advanced distributed heating and cooling system utilizing small‐scale high‐performance heat pumps was designed to replace the central heating and cooling system for the AIST laboratory buildings, which have a total floor area of 36,100 m², of which 20,100 m² is occupied by laboratories. In the old system, the total primary energy required for hot water was 44 TJ, and it was 12 TJ for chilled water in FY 2001. The new system is composed of small‐sized high‐performance heat pumps, with an average coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.1. After the reconstruction, the energy consumption was reduced to 37%, and with a total energy saving of 44 TJ for one year. The total CO₂ emission is estimated to be 26%, a reduction of 3000 tons per year. The energy saving is caused by the high‐performance small‐scale heat pumps, the high‐performance total system design that takes laboratory into account, and the suitable operation of the system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 174(2): 46–53, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20977