IEA Heat Pump Programme Annex 32 - Economical Heating and Cooling systems for low energy houses

The long term target of the US government is a broad introduction of so-called Net Zero Energy Houses (NZEH), i.e. houses with produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis. Thus, the DOE is interested in an optimised building technology for NZEH.(Fig. 1).

Fig.1 Breakdown of building energy consumption and concepts for Net Zero Energy Houses (NZEH)

An accomplished feasibility study delivered the result that a highly integrated heat pump incorporating the functions space heating, space cooling, DHW, ventilation incl. humidification and dehumidification of the ventilation air is the best option for NZEH. Therefore, the national project of the USA deals with the development of a highly integrated heat pump configuration. The work includes prototyping of a unit, lab testing of the different functions and performance simulation studies with TRNSYS as well as field testing of the unit.

US national project