Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Air Source Heat Pumps and Water Source Heat Pumps – What Are They and How To Choose One?

[et_pb_section admin_label=\”section\”] [et_pb_row admin_label=\”row\”] [et_pb_column type=\”4_4\”][et_pb_text admin_label=\”Text\”] What are Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and Water-Source Heat Pumps (WSHPs)? Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and Water-Source Heat Pumps (WSHPs)follow the same thermodynamic cycle called the ‘Vapour Compression Cycle’. (Please watch our ‘Heat Pump Knowledge Series’ to learn more about the thermodynamic cycle). How To Choose Between Air-Source and Water-Source Heat Pumps? The air source heat pump takes the input of electricity, extracts the heat from the ambient air, and gives hot water up to 90 degrees Celsius. Due to the extraction of heat from the ambient air, the ambient gets cooler. So, if there is a requirement for both hot water and cold air, then the air source heat pump is the solution. Water source heat pump takes the input of electricity, extracts heat from ambient water or process return water from industrial processes, and gives hot water up to 90 degrees Celsius. Due to the extraction of heat from the water, the water gets cooled in the range 7 to 30 degrees Celsius and this temperature is dependent on the temperature required for hot water. If there is a  requirement for both hot water and cold water, then the water source heat pump is the solution. (Click here to find out how the cost of heat pumps compare with the cost of other heating sources) Get Both Heating and Cooling Hot water is generally used in industries for degreasing, for pre-treatment, or for washing machines. In the commercial sector,  it can be used for bathing purposes or in kitchens. Coldwater can be used to reduce the load on chillers and cold air can be used for space cooling where the room temperature has to be brought down. Check out Aspiration Energy\’s heat pump solutions. Environmental and Financial Payback As both the heat pump types run on the same principle, both run with almost the same efficiency. Both the heat pumps are useful to reduce the CO2 emissions and help industries to reduce their energy bills. Return on investment is high if the existing system is an electric heater or a hot water generator. If you replace them with the heat pump, then the payback period will be less than 1.5 years. For more information, you can contact Aspiration Energy at info@aspirationenergy.com [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

How Much Is ‘Not Replacing The Diesel Boiler In Your Hotel’ Costing You Every Day? This Case of a 4-Star Hotel Has The Answer!

[et_pb_section admin_label=\”section\”] [et_pb_row admin_label=\”row\”] [et_pb_column type=\”4_4\”][et_pb_text admin_label=\”Text\”] A heat pump is considered as a passive solar thermal system that can save up to half of what you usually spend for the diesel boiler. Let us consider this very simple example. A 4-star hotel was using a diesel boiler that consumed 40 liters of diesel, running  8 hours a day for the generation of hot water at 80 degrees centigrade. Now, let\’s see what difference it would make if we replace the diesel boiler with a heat pump. Calculating Boiler Capacity Installed First of all, we will calculate the heating capacity of a diesel boiler installed in the hotel using the formula where m is the fuel consumption rate. i.e., 40 liters for 8 hours a day CV is the calorific value of the diesel. i.e., 9500 kilocalories per liter n is the efficiency of diesel boiler i.e., 80%, calculating which gives the value of installed capacity of the boiler as 44 kilowatts. Calculating Heat Pump Capacity Needed The next step is the selection of heat pumps. If we use our standard model of 28-kilowatt heat pump, whose power input is 10 kilowatts, we should select two numbers to get the desired heating output of 44 kilowatts. In addition to this, we have to add the auxiliary load consumption by the circulation pumps which usually ranges from 1 to 1.5 kilowatts. So, the total power input could be 20 kilowatts + 1.5 kilowatts which is 21.5 kilowatts. Now let’s move to the savings part. Comparing Running Costs of Diesel Boiler With Heat Pump First of all, we will calculate the operating cost of the diesel boiler for one day. i.e., 40 liters of diesel used per day x cost of diesel per liter i.e., 70 rupees, which gives the value of 2800 rupees. Now calculating the operating cost of heat pump for one day i.e 21.5 kilowatts x  8 hours of operation x 8.5 rupees i.e, the unit cost of electricity, which gives a value of 1460 rupees. The difference between these two values, i.e, 1340 rupees, is our savings per day! Payback Period, Financial and Environmental Savings If you calculate the savings for one year by multiplying it with 360 days, their annual saving would be 4,82,400 rupees. Finally, if they start using heat pumps right now, the return of investment would be 1.5 to 2 years. By using a heat pump, they not only save the money but also reduce the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Contact Us to Get Started Thank you. As always, if you are looking for a contractor who can help you with replacing your diesel boiler and installing energy-efficient heat pumps, give us a call at 96777 63170 or email us on info@aspirationenergy.com [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Will Heat Pumps perform better for Automobile Engine Head Washing?

Are heat pumps more cost-effective and efficient than electrical heaters in a hot water application for the manufacturing industry? Case of an Automobile Manufacturer Let\’s talk about a customer – Automobile  Manufacturer. The application they used hot water for is Engine Head Washing and the capacity of operation is around 28 kilowatts. Their temperature requirement is 50 to 60 degrees Celsius and they were running two shifts of operation. Results of the intervention We visited them to understand this application and gave an exact 28 kilowatts heat pump to meet that temperature requirement. You can see the installation photograph (below).   Before the installation of a heat pump, their average electrical consumption per hour was around 24 units. After the installation of the heat pump, it drastically reduced to 12 units per hour and they were able to save 86000 units per year. Not only that, but they were also able to reduce their carbon emissions. So, the heat pumps are not only cost-effective and efficient but also renewable and sustainable. How did heat pump make this achievement possible? How was that drastic reduction in the number of units even possible? The answer to this question lies in the ambient. Yes, the Ambient! A Heat Pump uses ambient temperature heat along with the heat generated with the usage of electricity. It converts that heat and transfers the heat energy from the ambient to the required heat output. So, the 2 kilowatt of ambient heat along with the 1 kilowatt of the electrical unit gives out around 3 to 4 units of heat energy output. So, this is the working principle and in summary, this heat pump is going to save around  5.5 lakh rupees for the customer, for that particular application. Can you achieve the same? If you are using electrical heaters for your hot water application, please feel free to call us on 96777 63170 for a demo of our heat pump. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Calculating and Comparing Levelised Cost Of Heat (LCH) Or True Cost of Heat in Rs./kWhth Of Commonly Used Heating Sources

Do you know it could be more than 3 TIMES CHEAPER to produce the same amount of heat through Heat Pumps than through a Diesel Boiler or an Electric Heater? In this video – in order to make a fair comparison – Levelised Cost of Heat or True Cost of Heat in Rupees per kilowatt-hour thermal (Rs./kWhth) is obtained for a variety of commonly used heating sources. Are you using diesel or LPG for heating water up to 90 degrees C? Now, the government talks about electrification of heat which means replacing diesel or LPG with electricity. But when you are comparing the operating cost of diesel and LPG with electricity, is it even comparable? Let’s find out. kCal vs kWh How do we compare the operating costs of diesel or LPG driven hot water generator and electricity? First of all, we have to understand kCal vs kWh. Are they very different from each other? Both are units of energy. 860 kCal is nothing but 1 kWh from units of energy perspective. Now when you are converting kCal to kWh or kWh into kCal what comes into the picture is nothing but the efficiency. In the case of a generator or a power generator, the efficiency of a generator comes into the picture. That’s why people do not compare kCal and kWh that easily. But in a hot water generator, the kCal is converted into heat and in an electricity generator, the electricity consumed in kWh is consumed into water delivery in terms of kCal and that kCal can be easily converted into kWh just by taking kCal and dividing by 860. This is the first thing that we need to understand. Typical Boiler Efficiency What is boiler efficiency? What goes into the boiler in terms of kCal supplied, in terms of the fuel’s calorific content gets converted into heat by burning and then gets out as kCal output of the hot water, that is being converted from the cold stage to the hot stage. That’s basically what is happening in the boiler. Then, what is efficiency? Efficiency is in the terms of the losses that take place in the flue gases or any other heat losses that are in an enclosure etc. What is the usual efficiency of the boiler? Boiler manufacturers will say 95% or 90% and whatnot. But boiler efficiency usually is in 70% or 75% range. Particularly if you operate the boiler at the low capacity, the boiler efficiency is more in the 50 to 60% range. Then what is the true kCal delivered as hot water from the kCal input as the fuel? Let’s find out! Converting Calorific Values to Cost of Heat So, what are the calorific values of some of the fuels? Here is the table that shows you what are the different calorific values. Now if you take 1 liter of diesel and take the calorific value and divide by 860, that is the number of kWh contained in 1 liter of diesel. Now here is a table that shows what is per kg and per liter calorific value of many of the fuels. Table Comparing True Cost of Heat from Various Fuels Fuel​ Calorific Value​ Litre/kg​ Boiler Efficiency​ kW​ Litre/kg​ Fuel Price​ Cost of Energy Spent per kWh ​(Rs)​ ​ kCal​ kW​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Furnace oil​ 9454.84​ 11.00 ​ per liter​ 60%​ 6.6​ per liter​ 36​ 5.45 ​ Diesel (HSD)​ 9422.3​ 11.00 ​ per liter​ 60%​ 6.6​ per liter​ 63​ 9.55 ​ SKO​ 8833.3​ 10.30 ​ per liter​ 60%​ 6.18​ per liter​ 50​ 8.09 ​ LPG​ 11017.9​ 13.00 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 7.8​ per kg​ 43​ 5.51 ​ Propane​ 12033.7​ 14.00 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 8.4​ per kg​ 42​ 5.00 ​ Coal/Coke​ 5250​ 6.00 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 3.6​ per kg​ 8​ 2.22 ​ Briquettes (Sugarcane husk)​ 3996​ 4.65 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 2.79​ per kg​ 4.5​ 1.61 ​ Electricity​ 860​ 1​ per unit​ 95%​ 0.95​ per unit​ 8​ 8.42 ​ Heat Pump​ 860​ 3​ Per unit​ 300% *​ 3​ Per unit​ 8​ 2.67​ Now to find the true cost of the energy delivered, multiply the calorific values by the efficiency of the boiler. Let’s assume it as 70%, what happens to the cost? What is the cost per kWh so that you can compare it directly? Nothing else but the calorific value of the fuel multiplied by efficiency divided by 860 and multiplied by the cost of fuel will give you the true cost. So, if you take a diesel-based hot water generator, as you can see the table, that the calorific value of 9400 approximately kCal per liter, it delivers about 11 kWh per liter and if you take only the 60% efficiency, every liter will be able to deliver 6.6 kWh. If you take 66 rupees per liter of diesel – the current diesel price is slightly higher than this – you will find that per kWh price of running a diesel-based hot water generator is 10 rupees. Now is your electricity being as expensive as your 10 rupees per kWh, actually may not be. So, it doesn’t make sense for you to run a diesel-based hot water generator even if your electricity price is directly or anything less than 10 rupees per kWh. But look at the last row – heat pumps! How do Heat Pumps compare to others? Heat pumps absorb heat from the atmosphere and deliver more heat for every unit of electricity supplied. For every kWh of electricity supplied, heat pumps are able to deliver up to 3 kWh of heat energy. So, what it means is even if your kWh of electricity, the cost is 10 rupees – since it generates 3 units of energy – per kWh cost of running a heat pump for delivering hot water is less than 3 rupees. So, if you have a diesel boiler, diesel-based hot water generator, or any other fuel, I have made a table that compares all the fuels and their cost per kWh based on these numbers. If you know what your efficiency is, you can work out what is the kWh of delivered heat for your existing hot water generator. We will be happy to help you with this exercise and make a decision on choosing the right hot water source for your business. Please contact us.

Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Heat Pump Over LPG Boiler For Hot Water In Hotels – A Case Study of a 4 Star Hotel

As hotels across the country are struggling with low occupancy rates and trying hard to reduce their operational expenses, one smart hotel owner figured out a simple solution that saves 70% on their energy bill. Curious about what that solution is? Watch the short video below by our CEO answering just that!  TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO Are Heat Pumps for Hot Water Bathing Applications Really Safer, More Economical and Environmentally Friendly For Hotels? We are talking about a 4-star hotel in Chennai where they were using LPG. They were consuming 35-50 kgs of LPG a day for hot water to cater to the bathing needs of the guests.  The increasing LPG cost was affecting their bottom line and what was more bothersome was the handling of LPG. The found it to be a safety hazard and found it more difficult to handle LPG. What is the solution? We gave a Heat Pump system – a more energy-efficient and safer product.  And we said we don’t need that much modification for the existing system; we integrated with the existing clarifier tank. It was also needing to handle variable heating needs from 40 degrees to 90 degrees Centigrade.  They also wanted a fool-proof system because it was critical to provide hot water at all times to the guests. So they wanted a monitoring mechanism to be an error-free mechanism.  We gave a 28kW Heat Pump system to them; We integrated it; We installed it on the rooftop that was extremely challenging.  We integrated with their existing hot water calorifier. We did it in three days. The integration was direct because the water quality was good. We didn’t need to install an extra heater, heat exchanger, extra circulation pump, or any of that. The cost was very low because of that.  With the 28kW heat pump system, we also gave a thermal energy monitoring system. What we actually did was to give it on the rental because they were not very sure that this heat pump will work for them, will it save for them, will it cater to all their needs, will it be reliable.  So, we gave the Heat Pump on rental to them. They looked at the savings; they monitored the savings using our heat monitoring system. We gave them our monitoring system as well. By looking at the savings they were so happy that they were willing to buy the system and convert the Rental into a CapEx.   The energy system replaced 35 to 50 kgs of LPG per day that cost about Rs.2500 every day for them and replaced it with electricity. Since the COP of the heat pump system was about 3, it consumed 1 unit of electricity to produce 3 units of heat and hence they spend only 900 Rs. a day and get their heating requirement for all their bathing water applications satisfied with only 900 Rs. a day.  Their payback period was less than 16 months.. less than 1 and a half years. This is how the installation looked on their rooftop.  Technically, this was a safer system..easier to operate..easy to monitor and control.  Financially, it saves 70% of their energy costs. They had a payback period of less than 16 months. Environmentally, although they were using a cleaner fuel like LPG, because the consumption was reduced one-third, because the heat pump was absorbing heat from the atmosphere and giving out as heat, the savings on CO2 in terms of environmental damage avoided was also about 11000 kgs over the period of last few months that we have operated the heat pump system. So, not only was it economical this was also ecological. So, overall this heat pump is going to save Rs.6.5 lakhs per annum for the customer.  If you are using any other thing other than a heat pump for heating, for bathing application or washing application in your hotel, we will be happy to suggest a heat pump system which can be safer, more economical, ecological…If you have any questions about whether it will work or not, you can always rent a system..you can try it out for a few months – see if it works for you and then convert into CapEx.  BUY IT AFTER YOU TRY IT!!! We look forward to hearing from you…Thank you. 

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps, White Paper

Heat Pump demo at UCAL Fuel Systems

UCAL Fuel systems had installed a heat pump in its plants as part of Aspiration Energy\’s rental demo installation to prove the savings of a heat pump. The duration of the demo was from the 21st of November to the 9th of December.   The demo showcased a 14 kW heat pump for one of its vacuum pump line washing machines. It has since proved a savings of 46 %, convincing UCAL that Heat pumps are the way to move forward in terms of sustainable industrial heating solutions for industrial washing machines.   UCAL Fuel Systems was established in 1985 by Carburetors Ltd. (pioneers in India in the manufacture of Carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps) as a joint venture company with Mikuni Corporation Japan – internationally renowned company for fuel management products and are in the business of providing holistic solutions in fuel management systems and is committed to producing products of consistent quality and timely delivery. Aspiration Energy and UCAL after a series of studies, agreed to install it for the vacuum pump line washing machine which perfectly fit our portfolio – with a temperature of 70 C and an actual load of around 7 kW. A brief summary of the demo is given below:   Heaters Units Consumption Average Energy Consumption in Heaters per hour = 6.34 kW Daily Units Consumption = 6.34 kW *24 Hours = 152 Units per day     Heat pump Units Consumption Average Energy Consumption in Heat Pump      = 3.54 kW Daily Units Consumption                                        = 3.54 kW * 24 Hours = 84.96 Units per day Savings Daily Units Savings per day                                    = 157.9 – 84.6                                                                                                                                                            = 73.3 Units Total Units to be saved per month                       = 67.04 x 26                                                                                                                                                                = 2,413 Units per month (For 2 washing machines units = 4,102 ) Total Cost saving per month                                  = Rs.16,894 per month (Cost Saving = 4,102 x 7 = Rs. 28,714) Investment Heat Pump Investment cost                                   = 6.5 Lakhs (Provision for 2 Washing machines) Return On Investment (ROI)                                   = 22.6 Months Accelerated Depreciation Claim                            = 40 % year on year for Energy Saving equipment After AD for 3 years ROI                                          = 16.6 months UCAL and Aspiration Energy now plan on to implement this technology to the rest of the washing machines in Maraimalai Nagar and to other plants thorough out India as well.   Success stories like these are what drives us towards making a greener and cleaner future.  

Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Electricity can be a clean and green source of heat! 

Industrial process heating consumes a lot of energy. Of this heat, the low-grade variety (typically < 120 C) is about 3737 kToe (Kilo-tonne of oil equivalent) which is about Rs. 18,400 Crore (US$ 2.8 Billion) annually. Of this, the top 3 consumers are Automotive and ancillaries, Food processing and Textiles, accounting for 44%. While textile and food processing use a mix of input fuels to cater to the need, automotive industries almost exclusively rely on higher grade fuels such as electricity, diesel, LPG etc to satisfy the heating heads. Component washing and pre treatment form the bulk of this need.    If you look at the above chart, it becomes evident that it is better to use electricity for heating rather than diesel. However, there is a better way to use electricity – using heat pumps. Solar heating is obviously cheaper and a great option for reducing the energy cost burden. However, as with solar PV, solar thermal is also infirm, necessitating its use only as a back-up. But with heat-pumps, it is entirely possible to eliminate your fired systems and run on electricity.In a previous post, I had shared how we could achieve a 50% reduction in energy cost for a truck manufacturer using heat pumps, which is reproduced here.     Industrial process heating with temperature requirements up to 90 C can now be addressed using advanced refrigerants and high-temperature heat pump compressors being introduced in the market. Here is a demo unit available at IIT Madras in the Energy and Emissions Lab, developed in collaboration with Aspiration Energy.     

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps

Does \”heat pump\” double electrical energy?

Does \”heat pump\” double electrical energy? Dugna? Ottikku retti? Ponzi scheme? Claims of one unit (KWHr) of electricity producing 2 units of cooling and 3 units of heat – getting the useful energy of 4-5 times – how does this work? Is it defying laws of physics? The law of conservation of energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another\” – can we defy that? Let\’s see. One of the most common apparatus in the world is an air-conditioner. Let\’s consider what happens in that. Inside the air-conditioned room is colder than outside. That means, the heat from inside of the room needs to be pushed out – is it not? But, heat flows from hotter place to colder place! How does this reverse flow happen? This is like a water pump – a pump pushes water from a lower level to a higher level – reverse of what usually can happen – usual flow is from a higher level to lower level. That is accomplished by \”work\” done by the pump. This is precisely the reason why a heat pump is called a heat \”pump\” – it pumps heat from a colder place to a hotter place. We provide electrical energy to the equipment in the air-conditioner – but, what happens is the heat energy from inside the room is pushed (pumped} to the outside. Now, if you go near the outside unit of an air-conditioner, you would have realized that it is hotter than the atmosphere. It needs to be so for pushing the heat outside. In a heat pump system – the heat given out to the atmosphere in air-conditioning system is used to heat water. That is about it. So, one unit of electricity is used to \”pump\” 2 units of heat from a colder place to a hotter place! What is gotten is not what is given – but like water – what is obtained is what is pumped. One unit if electricity is not \”converted\” to 2 units of heat – but it \”pumps\” 2 units of heat from a colder place to a hotter place through work delivered by a heat \”pump\” which is operated by electricity. Pay for heating and get cooling free! What is all this \”Buy One – Get One Free\” kind of talks in industrial and commercial heating / cooling side? Is this a marketing gimmick? Is it true? Again, going back to the earlier post on \”pumping\” of heat from a colder place to a hotter place, let\’s define what happens. In a hot place – say Chennai – average outside day temperature of – say 35 deg C. what we need inside the room is – say 25-degree C. Heat needs to be \”pumped\” from 25 deg C to 35 deg C. For this to happen the Air-conditioner needs to deliver \”cold\” at a much lower temperature than 25 degrees C – for air in the room to get cool. Routinely – air-conditioners work in the 6 to 8 degrees range. Let\’s look at outside – if the heat needs to be pushed outside – the air conditioner needs to have a temperature over 35 degrees – air-conditioners typically deliver 45-50 degrees. A \”lift\” in a typical home air-conditioner is 6 degrees (cooling side) to 50 degrees (heating side). In an air-conditioner scenario also, it is possible to \”harness\” the heat given away by the external unit. But, at 50 degrees C, it is difficult to use that heat. Now, come to heat pumps: The heat pumps operate at a \”lift\” of 20 degrees (cooling side) to 60 degrees (heating side). Some of the modern heat pumps can deliver 20 degrees {cooling side) to 90 degrees (heating side). It is the hot side that is used for heating water – to say 55 degrees to 60 degrees (or up to 85 degrees In modern heat pumps). How about the cold side? 20 degrees can be put to use? At least in a factory environment? Or, in a hotel room? Or in any process that requires cold temperatures of 20 degrees C? Of course – yes. Voila – we have answered how this seemingly physics-law-defying Ponzi scheme is not a Ponzi scheme. It is not the conversion of electricity into heat like in conventional electric heaters, but \”pumping\” of heat. Here is the limitation and its possible solutions: One side must be primary: In heat pump system – the primary objective is to heat the water to 60 deg c (or 85 deg c in case of modern ones) – so, if the cooling side does not operate, the heating side also will stop. Hence, if our primary objective is heating, we need to ensure that the heat can be \”pumped\” even if the cooling side does not operate. This is a common failure by many designers who have hybridized the system without backing up for situations when heating and cooling are not operating simultaneously. What have we done? What we have done in such cases is to take the colder side and back it to a sump or a heat sink that can take the heat and get cool. In one case, we have used this to cool the tank that provides input water to a cooling tower – this way the cooling tower also gets more efficient, saving energy. In a hotel room kind of a scenario – while this \”free\” cooling can reduce the load on the air conditioner,  we need to have back up air-conditioners. Applications of cooling: Factory shop – to provide a better environment for workers – in this case, it can be optional, and hence they get the benefit only when the heat pump is running. We can create an \”oasis room\” that has a few seats and a water fountain which area is maintained cold by the heat pump\’s cooling side.

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps

Does \”heat pump\” double electrical energy?

Does \”heat pump\” double electrical energy? Dugna? Ottikku retti? Ponzi scheme? Claims of one unit (KWHr) of electricity producing 2 units of cooling and 3 units of heat – getting the useful energy of 4-5 times – how does this work? Is it defying laws of physics? The law of conservation of energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another\” – can we defy that? Let\’s see. One of the most common apparatus in the world is an air-conditioner. Let\’s consider what happens in that. Inside the air-conditioned room is colder than outside. That means, the heat from inside of the room needs to be pushed out – is it not? But, heat flows from hotter place to colder place! How does this reverse flow happen? This is like a water pump – a pump pushes water from a lower level to a higher level – reverse of what usually can happen – usual flow is from a higher level to lower level. That is accomplished by \”work\” done by the pump. This is precisely the reason why a heat pump is called a heat \”pump\” – it pumps heat from a colder place to a hotter place. We provide electrical energy to the equipment in the air-conditioner – but, what happens is the heat energy from inside the room is pushed (pumped} to the outside. Now, if you go near the outside unit of an air-conditioner, you would have realized that it is hotter than the atmosphere. It needs to be so for pushing the heat outside. In a heat pump system – the heat given out to the atmosphere in air-conditioning system is used to heat water. That is about it. So, one unit of electricity is used to \”pump\” 2 units of heat from a colder place to a hotter place! What is gotten is not what is given – but like water – what is obtained is what is pumped. One unit if electricity is not \”converted\” to 2 units of heat – but it \”pumps\” 2 units of heat from a colder place to a hotter place through work delivered by a heat \”pump\” which is operated by electricity. Pay for heating and get cooling free! What is all this \”Buy One – Get One Free\” kind of talks in industrial and commercial heating / cooling side? Is this a marketing gimmick? Is it true? Again, going back to the earlier post on \”pumping\” of heat from a colder place to a hotter place, let\’s define what happens. In a hot place – say Chennai – average outside day temperature of – say 35 deg C. what we need inside the room is – say 25-degree C. Heat needs to be \”pumped\” from 25 deg C to 35 deg C. For this to happen the Air-conditioner needs to deliver \”cold\” at a much lower temperature than 25 degrees C – for air in the room to get cool. Routinely – air-conditioners work in the 6 to 8 degrees range. Let\’s look at outside – if the heat needs to be pushed outside – the air conditioner needs to have a temperature over 35 degrees – air-conditioners typically deliver 45-50 degrees. A \”lift\” in a typical home air-conditioner is 6 degrees (cooling side) to 50 degrees (heating side). In an air-conditioner scenario also, it is possible to \”harness\” the heat given away by the external unit. But, at 50 degrees C, it is difficult to use that heat. Now, come to heat pumps: The heat pumps operate at a \”lift\” of 20 degrees (cooling side) to 60 degrees (heating side). Some of the modern heat pumps can deliver 20 degrees {cooling side) to 90 degrees (heating side). It is the hot side that is used for heating water – to say 55 degrees to 60 degrees (or up to 85 degrees In modern heat pumps). How about the cold side? 20 degrees can be put to use? At least in a factory environment? Or, in a hotel room? Or in any process that requires cold temperatures of 20 degrees C? Of course – yes. Voila – we have answered how this seemingly physics-law-defying Ponzi scheme is not a Ponzi scheme. It is not the conversion of electricity into heat like in conventional electric heaters, but \”pumping\” of heat. Here is the limitation and its possible solutions: One side must be primary: In heat pump system – the primary objective is to heat the water to 60 deg c (or 85 deg c in case of modern ones) – so, if the cooling side does not operate, the heating side also will stop. Hence, if our primary objective is heating, we need to ensure that the heat can be \”pumped\” even if the cooling side does not operate. This is a common failure by many designers who have hybridized the system without backing up for situations when heating and cooling are not operating simultaneously. What have we done? What we have done in such cases is to take the colder side and back it to a sump or a heat sink that can take the heat and get cool. In one case, we have used this to cool the tank that provides input water to a cooling tower – this way the cooling tower also gets more efficient, saving energy. In a hotel room kind of a scenario – while this \”free\” cooling can reduce the load on the air conditioner,  we need to have back up air-conditioners. Applications of cooling: Factory shop – to provide a better environment for workers – in this case, it can be optional, and hence they get the benefit only when the heat pump is running. We can create an \”oasis room\” that has a few seats and a water fountain which area is maintained cold by the heat pump\’s cooling side.

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps

Does \”heat pump\” double electrical energy?

Does \”heat pump\” double electrical energy? Dugna? Ottikku retti? Ponzi scheme? Claims of one unit (KWHr) of electricity producing 2 units of cooling and 3 units of heat – getting the useful energy of 4-5 times – how does this work? Is it defying laws of physics? The law of conservation of energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another\” – can we defy that? Let\’s see. One of the most common apparatus in the world is an air-conditioner. Let\’s consider what happens in that. Inside the air-conditioned room is colder than outside. That means, the heat from inside of the room needs to be pushed out – is it not? But, heat flows from hotter place to colder place! How does this reverse flow happen? This is like a water pump – a pump pushes water from a lower level to a higher level – reverse of what usually can happen – usual flow is from a higher level to lower level. That is accomplished by \”work\” done by the pump. This is precisely the reason why a heat pump is called a heat \”pump\” – it pumps heat from a colder place to a hotter place. We provide electrical energy to the equipment in the air-conditioner – but, what happens is the heat energy from inside the room is pushed (pumped} to the outside. Now, if you go near the outside unit of an air-conditioner, you would have realized that it is hotter than the atmosphere. It needs to be so for pushing the heat outside. In a heat pump system – the heat given out to the atmosphere in air-conditioning system is used to heat water. That is about it. So, one unit of electricity is used to \”pump\” 2 units of heat from a colder place to a hotter place! What is gotten is not what is given – but like water – what is obtained is what is pumped. One unit if electricity is not \”converted\” to 2 units of heat – but it \”pumps\” 2 units of heat from a colder place to a hotter place through work delivered by a heat \”pump\” which is operated by electricity. Pay for heating and get cooling free! What is all this \”Buy One – Get One Free\” kind of talks in industrial and commercial heating / cooling side? Is this a marketing gimmick? Is it true? Again, going back to the earlier post on \”pumping\” of heat from a colder place to a hotter place, let\’s define what happens. In a hot place – say Chennai – average outside day temperature of – say 35 deg C. what we need inside the room is – say 25-degree C. Heat needs to be \”pumped\” from 25 deg C to 35 deg C. For this to happen the Air-conditioner needs to deliver \”cold\” at a much lower temperature than 25 degrees C – for air in the room to get cool. Routinely – air-conditioners work in the 6 to 8 degrees range. Let\’s look at outside – if the heat needs to be pushed outside – the air conditioner needs to have a temperature over 35 degrees – air-conditioners typically deliver 45-50 degrees. A \”lift\” in a typical home air-conditioner is 6 degrees (cooling side) to 50 degrees (heating side). In an air-conditioner scenario also, it is possible to \”harness\” the heat given away by the external unit. But, at 50 degrees C, it is difficult to use that heat. Now, come to heat pumps: The heat pumps operate at a \”lift\” of 20 degrees (cooling side) to 60 degrees (heating side). Some of the modern heat pumps can deliver 20 degrees {cooling side) to 90 degrees (heating side). It is the hot side that is used for heating water – to say 55 degrees to 60 degrees (or up to 85 degrees In modern heat pumps). How about the cold side? 20 degrees can be put to use? At least in a factory environment? Or, in a hotel room? Or in any process that requires cold temperatures of 20 degrees C? Of course – yes. Voila – we have answered how this seemingly physics-law-defying Ponzi scheme is not a Ponzi scheme. It is not the conversion of electricity into heat like in conventional electric heaters, but \”pumping\” of heat. Here is the limitation and its possible solutions: One side must be primary: In heat pump system – the primary objective is to heat the water to 60 deg c (or 85 deg c in case of modern ones) – so, if the cooling side does not operate, the heating side also will stop. Hence, if our primary objective is heating, we need to ensure that the heat can be \”pumped\” even if the cooling side does not operate. This is a common failure by many designers who have hybridized the system without backing up for situations when heating and cooling are not operating simultaneously. What have we done? What we have done in such cases is to take the colder side and back it to a sump or a heat sink that can take the heat and get cool. In one case, we have used this to cool the tank that provides input water to a cooling tower – this way the cooling tower also gets more efficient, saving energy. In a hotel room kind of a scenario – while this \”free\” cooling can reduce the load on the air conditioner,  we need to have back up air-conditioners. Applications of cooling: Factory shop – to provide a better environment for workers – in this case, it can be optional, and hence they get the benefit only when the heat pump is running. We can create an \”oasis room\” that has a few seats and a water fountain which area is maintained cold by the heat pump\’s cooling side.

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