Evaluation of the design, construction and operation of a gas fuelled, engine driven heat pump, and its possible role in a UK market

This thesis describes the results of several years work on the design, construction, testing and evaluation of a gas fuelled, engine driven heat pump and its possible role in a future U. K. market. In 1977 a joint venture was embarked upon by the Open University Energy Research Group, Lucas Aerospace and Milton Keynes Development Corporation to design, manufacture and install a gas fuelled heat pump in a rented house, and to monitor its performance in real operating conditions. It was one of a number of projects in the field of heat pump research and development supported by the Department of Energy. Due to a delay in receiving research funds however, and because of the size of the unit, it was impossible to install the system in a suitable property and so it underwent an intensive laboratory test programme simulating various load patterns and operating conditions. The heat pump, using air as its source of heat was driven by a 360 cc single cylinder marine engine converted to run on natural gas. The work was completed in 1980 and the heat pump was found to work well and justified the design assumptions made, after allowing for the poor performance of the engine used. At 6°C (ambient) an output of 14 kW was achieved with an overall efficiency or C. O. P. of 1.1 which compares favourably with a typical seasonal gas boiler efficiency of around 0.65-0.70. As well as giving a full technical description of the heat pump system, plus an analysis of the various individual components, the thesis looks at the historical development of heat pumps generally and briefly considers the applications to which heat pumps can be put in domestic, commercial and industrial markets, and the possible economies this would bring. It concludes by looking at the future work needed in order to achieve these ends.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

The Open University

Year dc:date.issued

1984

Author dc:creator

• Newport, Cheryl Anne

Language dc:language

en