Page 139 - Low Temperature Energy Systems with Applications of Renewable Energy

128 Low-Temperature Energy Systems with Applications of Renewable Energy

Fig. 3.42 Energy balances of two types of heat pumps in comparison with a conventional boiler
for the production of heat based on one unit of input fuel energy.

As can be seen, the equivalent fuel consumption for the absorption heat pump is
40e50% less than for the boiler and the vapor compression heat pump. Therefore,
the use of large ABHP with thermal power of tens of MW is economically more
feasible than the use of boilers or vapor-compression heat pumps. The results of the
comparison are shown graphically in Fig. 3.42.

3.6 Summary

This chapter covers a wide range of heat pump applications from individual private resi-
dencesto modern skyscrapers toairports and other public facilities. Although mainly tech-
nical topics are presented, the economics of various systems is covered in the last section
where equivalent coal consumption is used as the basis for comparison. Heat pumps are
shown to be very effective in controlling the climate in pools, particularly indoor units
where humiditycan posechallenges for designers. Water-loop systems are becoming pop-
ular in many places owing to their inherent flexibility to allow heating and cooling simul-
taneouslyinbuildingwithvariablethermalloads.Inthecaseofahot-waterheatingsystem,
detailed assessments are carried out considering a conventional water boiler and heat