Experimental based determination of SCOP coefficient for ground-water heat pump

Abstract

The paper presents research related to the operation of an ground-source heat pump with a thermal output of 16.85 kW and an electrical power of 3.72 kW in various conditions, both from the mechanical and thermodynamic perspective. The publication contains the results of research on a selected heat pump model with an R410a refrigerant carried out in an accredited laboratory in the Czech Republic. Detailed analysis of the data in terms of changes in the COP coefficient for two heating water temperatures was carried out (35°C and 55°C) and in the range of outdoor air temperature from -10°C to 15°C every 1°C. The analysis was also carried out to determine the efficiency of the heat pump depending on the parameters of the heat source. Devices of this type, enabling effective use of environmental available thermal energy with low operating costs, meet increasingly stringent environmental protection requirements. Significant costs of heating buildings are one of the main reasons for the need to look for alternative energy sources. The heat resources contained in water, air and land are huge. Due to the fact that heat pump prices dropped significantly, and their efficiency has increased over the last few years, these devices are a real competition for conventional ways of supplying buildings with heat. Heat pumps do not require daily maintenance, are fully automated and have intuitive control. These features allow to use them as components in the system of a modern and intelligent household. It was shown that the SCOP of the tested device increased by 1% on average reaching SCOP = 4.71 for a typical external calculation temperature and for a low-temperature heating system (35°C).