Annual Report 2010 (4.1 MB) - Danish Technological Institute

Cases > Energy and Climate
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35
Case
15
New mini heat pump
to heat the lowenergy
houses of the
future
In cooperation with Danfoss
Compressors Holding A/S, Cowi
A/S, Nilan A/S and Grundfos
A/S, the Danish Technological
Institute had a successful 2010
developing and testing prototypes
of a new mini heat pump
suitable for the low-energy
houses of the future.
The participants tested the new
type of mini heat pumps in combination
with a domestic ventilation
pump in the Danish Technological
Institute’s energy-neutral construction
EnergyFlexHouse in Taastrup
during the 2009 and 2010 heating
seasons.
Three prototypes of the mini heat
pump with a thermal capacity of approx.
2.1 kW have been produced.
The prototypes are of the fluid-wa-
ter type, i.e. the ground-heat type,
and are based on a new compressor
from Danfoss Compressors Holding
A/S with speed control. The compressor
delivers a thermal efficiency
of approx. 1.0 kW to 2.1 kW.
– We’ve achieved good efficiencies
for the prototypes in the lab, especially
considering that these are
small heat pumps, explains Senior
Consultant Per Henrik Pedersen
from the Danish Technological Institute.
He is in charge of the project,
which has received funding from the
Energy Technology Development
and Demonstration Programme
under the Danish Energy Agency.
He assesses that the double mini
heat pump is highly suitable for
low-energy houses because it can
generate hot domestic water by
using the energy of the exhaust air
from the ventilation system while
also providing homes with warmth
from ground heat.
Nilan A/S is far ahead
In parallel with this project, Nilan
A/S has marketed a mini heat pump
based on a conventional compressor
from Danfoss Compressors Holding
A/S. Nilan A/S has also been working
on a larger model to be tested
in EnergyFlexHouse during the 2010
and 2011 heating seasons.
The combination of domestic ventilation
heat pump and mini heat
pump for floor heat is now also
being marketed by Nilan A/S under
the name ‘VP 18 Compact’, which
has already been installed in a
number of places around northern
Europe.
– We’ve gained a lot from the cooperation
with the Danish Technological
Institute, Danfoss Compressors
Holding A/S, Cowi A/S and Grundfos
A/S in this project. As part of
a broad professional forum, we’ve
tested some ideas and verified
that the concept of combining the
domestic ventilation pump and the
mini heat pump is feasible. We expect
that implementing this knowledge
into our product expansion will
boost sales nicely as we can expect
a growing market for low-energy
houses, says Managing Director of
Nilan A/S, Torben Andersen.