Design and Test of a Heat Pump Water Heater

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Design and Test of a Heat Pump Water Heater

A proposal submitted to the Integrated Science and Technology Department

At James Madison University In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of ScienceIn

Integrated Science and TechnologyJames Madison University

May 2007

By Lam Vu !evin "ost

Under The #uidance of$%r& Tony 'hen

()ternal S*onsors$+o,ert J& Landes of Landes -eating and 'ooling

.cce*ted ,y$

%r& Tony 'hen /Signature



ABSTRACT

In this *ro1ect an air3to3air heat *um* 4as converted into a heat *um*

4ater heater /-56- the *erformance of such a system 4as tested in

the la, using the La,Vie4 TM soft4are and thermocou*les to e)amine thetem*erature change and difference throughout the system& 8ive

thermocou*les are *laced in the eighty3gallon 4ater tan9 to investigate

the 4ater tem*erature stratification and t4o thermocou*les are *laced on

the suction and discharge side of the com*ressor& .m,ient tem*erature

4ater flo4 rate and total energy consum*tion 4ere also monitored

throughout the test& Single3cycle data 4ere collected for calculating the

coefficient of *erformance /':5 of the system& The *reliminary result

sho4s that the ':5 is 0&;< ± 0&02 for .dd3on and =&=>± 0&0= for %ro*3inconfiguration 4ith no *ro*er insulation around the vessel and co**er

tu,ing& . feasi,ility model of the current heat *um* 4ater heater 4as

develo*ed to e)amine the *ros and cons of running this 9ind of -56-

system in a residential or commercial setting&

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ACKNOWLEDGE ENTS

6e 4ould li9e to ac9no4ledge %r& Tony 'hen for his outstanding 9no4ledge on the -eat 5um* 6ater

-eating 8ield his constant guidance in anything and everything to do 4ith our *ro1ect and his

*ersistence in hel*ing us 4henever 4e needed hel* and he 4as al4ays there to guide us& Mr& +o,ert

Landes for his e)*ertise in the creation of the -56- system 4ithout him 4e 4ould have never gotten

any4here in this *ro1ect& -e 4as also there ans4ering our ?uestions and guiding us through the system&

6ithout him 4e ,asically 4ouldn@t have a *ro1ect at all& Than9s to Mr& Joe +udmin for his hel* on

soldering the thermocou*les together 4ith the Amost dangerous machine in IS.T& 8inally 4e 4ould

also li9e to than9 Mr& -enry +o,ertson for the use of his camera for the fantastic *hotos of our system&

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Ta!"e of Contents

.BST+.'T&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

.'!C:6L(%#(M(CTS&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta,le of 'ontents&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta,le of 8igures&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta,le of Ta,les&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta,le of (?uations&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

=&0 ICT+:%U'TI:C&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

2&0 +(.S:CS 8:+ STU%"&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

D&0 LIT(+.TU+( B.'!#+:UC%&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

E&0 S"ST(M ':M5:C(CTS&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

E&= Mani*ulation of 'oolant&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

E&2 The 'ycle&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

E&D AThe Beast &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

F&0 (G5(+IM(CT.L %(SI#C&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

F&= Tools and Materials&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&;&0 M(T-:%:L:#"&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

;&= .dd3on System&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

;&2 Integral /%ro*3in System&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

7&0 %.T. .C.L"SISH'.L'UL.TI:CS&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

7&= +unning the System&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

7&2 (fficiency 'alculations&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

<&0 (V.LU.TI:CSH:BS(+V.TI:CS&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

<&= .dd3on System&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&<&2 %ro*3in System&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

<&D Both Systems&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

>&0 ':C'LUSI:CS .C% +(':M(CT%.TI:CS&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

>&= :+CL versus Us&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

>&2 8inal .nalysis&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

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=0&0 +eferences&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

==&0 .55(C%(C%I'I(S&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta!"e of #igures

8igure =& 5rice of natural gas in .merica data over the last F years /Source$ (nergy Information.dministration (I. 4e,site &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 2& The changing *rices of electricity *er 9ilo4att3hour over the last =2 years /Source$ (I.6e,site &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure D& (nergy sources are used to generate electricity in .merica& /Source$ I(. 4e,site &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure E& :+CL -56- testing facility&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure F& Ty*ical results for ,oth an .dd3on unit and integral /%ro*3in unit Stage = start day = Stage 2day <> Stage D day =7= Stage E day 2D> and Stage F day 27D&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure ;& The a,ove image is an eva*oratorHcondenser& The visi,le coils are 4hat allo4 for energye)change&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 7& . ty*ical va*or com*ression cycle on a T3s diagram refrigerant changes state and energycontent as it cycles through our heat *um* 4ater heater&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure <& The vessel on the ,ottom contained the indoor coil sho4n on the right and the unit on to*4or9ed as the eva*orator of the system&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure >& This *icture sho4s the suction line accumulator& This is the ,lac9 cylinder to the left of the *icture& The *um* used to circulate the 4ater through the system is sho4n on the right& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =0& Both the 4att3hour meter and the digital clam* ammeter in use the 4att3hour meter 4asn@tused ,ecause the eva*orator@s rece*tacle 4asn@t the correct one& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure ==& Ty*e3( thermocou*le 4ith the violet and red 4ires and the cement on thermocou*le 4ith its *erfect connection at the end and a *ad that is ready to stic93on any surface&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

5 |



8igure =2& Schematic of the modified -56- system&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =D& 'ali,ration curve for all eight thermocou*les as you can see it 4ent from cold to hot ,ac9do4n to cold again&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =E& 'ali,ration curve for an individual thermocou*le&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =F& 5V' *i*e through the to* of the 4ater tan9 /left and the *lacement of the five thermocou*leson the 5V' *i*e /right &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =;& . schematic of the %ro*3in system&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =7& .ttached thermocou*les and through the *urge 4hole of the vessel&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =<& La,Vie4TM 8ront *anel for the .dd3on unit&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure =>& La,Vie4TM 8ront *anel of the %ro*3in unit&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 20& ((S ® out*ut and e?uation 4indo4 for the .dd3on -56- system&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 2=& ':5 calculation for the %ro*3in system&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 22& Tem*erature *rofiles and the system ':5s ,oth as a function of time&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&8igure 2D& The ,all valve at the ,ottom of the tan9&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 2E& Lea9 from the to* of the tan9 and a lea9 from the vessel&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

8igure 2F& +esults of ,oth :+CL and the *ro1ect@s system&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta!"e of Ta!"es

Ta,le =& :*erating conditions for each stage of dura,ility test *rotocol&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ta,le 2& Sho4s the distinct characteristics of Ty*e3( thermocou*les&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

6 |



Ta!"e of E$uations

/= &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

/2 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

/D &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

7 |







in*ut energy they are ca*a,le of out*utting more heat& (fficiency is an e)tremely im*ortant as*ect to

energy ,ecause every accom*lishment made 4ill allo4 for less consum*tion of energy ,y the average

user of a *roduct and ho*efully ,y everyone together as 4ell& The lessening of overall consum*tion can

mean many things to many *eo*le& 6e 4ill ,e discussing an individual@s reasons for consuming less as

4ell as reasons to consume less as a society& .merican homes currently use natural gas 4ater heaters orelectrically driven 4ater heaters& Both of these 9inds of 4ater heaters de*end on an energy mar9et that

can ,e ?uite s*oradic& .s you can see in igure ! natural gas *rices over the last fe4 years have ,een

going u* steadily since 200D&

#igure %& 5rice of natural gas in .merica data over the last F years / Source" (nergy Information .dministration(I. 4e,site

'osts vary seasonally ,ut have ,een trending u* for ?uite some time& The red line is of *rinci*le concern

in this situation& It sho4s the *rice that the average consumer in .merica *ays for natural gas& Catural gas

is commonly used for home heating coo9ing and 4ater heating& If a family is de*endent u*on a mar9et

that can change every fe4 months they are *utting themselves at ris9& Many factors can contri,ute to a

ra*id change in natural gas *rices& A. commodity@s *rice can reflect the influence of random events such

as oil em,argos *i*eline ru*tures hurricanes and a,normally cold or hot tem*eratures& Catural gas

*rices certainly have ,een influenced ,y such random events& 8or e)am*le during a 234ee9 *eriod in

8e,ruary =>>; -enry -u, s*ot *rices 4ent a,ove F&00 *er thousand cu,ic feet ,ecause of unseasona,lycold tem*eratures&= The truth is that there are 1ust too many things that can go 4rong in the natural gas

mar9et& 6e have seen some 4ild s4ings in *rices over time due to things li9e Aunusual cold ,ut it has

not ,een so long since the *etroleum mar9et 4as su,1ect to huge changes& The *oint is that modern

consumers are de*endent u*on unsta,le energy mar9ets and that that de*endence could cause economic

*ro,lems in many different scenarios&

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6ater heaters that are currently on the mar9et are heavily de*endent on volatile energy sources 4hich can

cost the average lo4 income home o4ner& It 4as 4ith these users in mind that 4e *ursued the

develo*ment of heat *um* 4ater heater technologies& :ur system needs only electricity to run and

electricity is a ,etter alternative than a direct fossil fuel mar9et& The electricity mar9et is made u* of manydifferent fuel sources& It has sho4n the a,ility to fluctuate ,ut overall is has remained fairly sta,le over

the last decade or so& igure # sho4s the electricity mar9et over the last decade& . heat *um* 4ater

heater 4ould ,e de*endent u*on electricity ,ut could *rove to ,e ?uite valua,le ,ecause of its higher

efficiency&

#igure *& The changing *rices of electricity *er 9ilo4att3hour over the last =2 years / Source" (I.6e,site

The availa,ility of domestic sources sta,le infrastructure and government regulation are 1ust some

reasons 4hy the electricity mar9et has ,een far more sta,le than other energy mar9ets& Many *eo*le ,oth

nationally and 4orld4ide 4ould ,enefit from having a 4ater heater that is consistently chea* and relia,le&

In fact it is these three factors along 4ith safety that encom*ass all that *eo*le 4ant from their energy

com*anies& If the develo*ment of our system can hel* to achieve that situation then 4e are hel*ing to

im*rove *eo*le@s lives& There are even cleaner forms of energy *roduction out there& There are solar

4ater heaters that may ,e com*ara,le to our system ,ut solar technologies are not fully ca*a,le of

meeting the demands of a modern household yet& Solar technologies are still e)*ensive and

im*lementation of these systems in the average home is still many years a4ay& Many *eo*le cannot

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afford to 9ee* u* 4ith the ra*id changes associated 4ith solar energy along 4ith other energy sources&

:ur system is a small change to a currently im*lemented system that if a**lica,le could ,e added to

homes very soon& The average *erson could ,enefit greatly in ,oth the short run and long run if heat

*um* 4ater heaters are researched and found to ,e as useful as 4e foresee them to ,e& . sim*le chea*

installation 4ould allo4 lo4 income consumers to use heating and cooling e?ui*ment they already o4n tosu**lement their 4ater heating or re*lace it entirely& This 4ould ,e a great o*tion for individuals and

mass im*lementation could ,e even more ,eneficial&

6e also chose to study heat *um* 4ater heaters from a more glo,al *ers*ective& 6hen 4e tal9 a,out

residential energy use 4e are usually tal9ing a,out consum*tion of fossil fuels& 6henever 4e tal9 a,out

the negative effects of fossil fuel use 4e are tal9ing a,out glo,al climate change& .s seen in igure $%

most of the energy economy in .merica is ,uilt on fossil fuels&

#igure ,& (nergy sources are used to generate electricity in .merica& / Source" I(. 4e,site

The ,urning of natural gas coal *etroleum or other car,on3,ased fuels has documented negative effects&

AThese include human health *ro,lems caused ,y air *ollution from the ,urning of coal and oil damage

to land from coal mining and to miners from ,lac9 lung disease environmental degradation caused ,y

glo,al 4arming acid rain and 4ater *ollution and national security costs such as *rotecting foreignsources of oil&2 -o4 4ould a heat *um* 4ater heater that runs off of electricity hel* in the fight against

glo,al climate change The ans4er is any energy that is saved through efficiency lessens the emissions

necessary for heating 4ater& The goal of this *ro1ect is to study and develo* a ne4 technology& This

technology could *rove to ,e significantly more efficient than *revious 4ater heaters& If these -56-s

are more efficient than currently *o*ular 4ater heaters then energy units are ,eing saved that 4ould

12 |



normally ,e used ,y a less efficient system& (very unit of energy that is dis*laced ,y these ne4

technologies means less energy needs to ,e made& If that energy does not have to ,e *roduced then that

means that less fossil fuel need to ,e ,urned to *roduce that energy& The reasons 4hy 4e decided to

study -56-s 4as to see if they could fit into the real 4orld economy and hel* lo4 income homes as

4ell as drive do4n energy needs 4ith efficiency to limit fossil fuel ,urning&

,&' L(TERAT)RE BACKGRO)ND

This *ro1ect 4as ,ased on &Durability Testing of a Drop'in (eat )ump *ater (eater D %+and &(eat

)ump *ater (eater Durability Testing' )hase II E %+ t4o studies *erformed ,y :a9 +idge Cational

La,oratory on -eat 5um* 6ater -eaters com*leted in May 2002 and May 200E res*ectively& In the

studies :+CL states that since -56- systems 4ere ,asically a novel technology and haven@t made there

mar9 in industry there 4as no real measurements of the dura,ility and efficiencies on these ty*es of

systems& So the overall goal of their *ro1ect 4as to Aidentify design and com*onent 4ea9nesses that could

im*act the relia,ility and *erformance of the -56- over =0 years of simulated residential use&

13 |



To test for efficiency and dura,ility ten -56-s 4ere *laced in an environmentally controlled test

facility& 8ive systems 4ere u*graded %ro*3in 4ater heater systems and five units 4ere .dd3on ty*e of

units 4hich connected to a conventional -56- system& :a9 +idge then simulated the ty*ical lifes*an of

a conventional 4ater heater 4hich 4as a**ro)imately 73=0 years of normal o*eration to meet the hot4ater needs of a residence& The average lifetime of an electric 4ater heater is around == years and that of

a gas 4ater heater is around > years& To a**ro)imate this num,er they calculated the average daily duty

cycles of conventional 4ater heaters and multi*lied this ,y their average o*eration times in days and

years& This num,er came out to ,e roughly 7D00 cycles& They 4ere a,le to conduct these tests in

a**ro)imately a total of 200 days of testing& igure , sho4s the ,asic setu* of .dd3on and %ro*3in 4ater

heaters used to conduct their tests&

The facility used 4as designed and ,uilt ,y :a9 +idge in their res*onse to *rovide a controlledenvironment so that they could ,e tested in a Areal 4orld environment& 8ive stage tests 4ere simulated

and each stage 4as used to re*roduce the different conditions a -56- might have to go through 4hen in

o*eration&Table ! sho4s the different *arameters used to simulate these tests& The different locations

used to simulate these stages ranged from Jac9sonville 8L Los .ngeles '. to Boston M.& These

tem*eratures and humidity@s of these areas re*resented different moisture content in the am,ient air and

different areas in 4here the -56- may ,e *laced for instance in a garage or ,asement&

14 |



#igure -& :+CL -56- testing facility

Ta!"e %& :*erating conditions for each stage of dura,ility test *rotocol

5rimary and secondary loo*s 4ere used for the *ur*ose of *roviding cold and hot 4ater to each test unit

according to their individual demand& Instrumentation for the different -56-s used in the study included

flo4 controls monitoring valves thermocou*les data ac?uisition devices and much more to follo4

through 4ith their overall *lan& The t4o efficiency measurements :+CL 4anted to find from their

e)*eriment 4ere the (nergy 8actor /(8 and 'oefficient of 5erformance /':5 4hich 4ill ,e e)*lained

later& :+CL found that the tests and results 4ere similar to those found in the first dura,ility test& igure

- sho4s e)am*le results of ,oth an .dd3on unit and a ty*ical %ro*3in unit& 8rom igure - one can see

that the tem*erature variations for an .dd3on unit 4ere *retty drastic& There 4as a lot more fluctuation intem*erature in the .dd3on unit as o**osed to the integral unit&

.fter all the *re3tests and *ost3tests 4ere e)amined :+CL concluded that on an overall ,asis -56-s

4ere a,le to *erform more efficient than that of the conventional electric and gas 4ater heaters& (nergy

factors and coefficient of *erformances for the tested -56-s in :+CL 4ere considera,ly ,etter than

that of conventional electric and gas 4ater heaters&

8rom their study :+CL 4as a,le to conclude that the -56-s 4ere a,le to *erform ,etter than the (6-/(lectric 6ater -eater and they did not degrade very much over time& 8rom some *ost test o,servations

?uality issues 4ere addressed and only s*ecific *arts did degrade ,ut 4ere easy to re*lace& (fficiency

standards for the -56-s also did not degrade over their lifecycles either&

15 |



Figure 5. Ty*ical results for ,oth an .dd3on unit and integral /%ro*3in unit Stage = start day = Stage 2day <> Stage D day =7= Stage E day 2D> and Stage F day 27D&

-&' S+STE CO PONENTS

In this section 4e 4ill discuss the ho4 our system 4or9s and ,asic com*onents that ma9e u* the 4ater

heater& :ur 4ater heater is a converted air3to3air heat *um* unit so it has all of the same *ieces 1ust

organiKed a little differently&

-&% anipu"ation of Coo"ant:ur system transfers energy from 4arm air to cold 4ater through the medium of a refrigerant /-'8'322 &

. refrigerant is a heat transfer fluid that has a high thermal ca*acity& This means that 4hen e)*osed to

am,ient air tem*eratures it can still 4ithdra4 energy from its surrounding environment 4hen it is at a lo4

*ressure and lo4 tem*erature& The same refrigerant at high *ressure can ,e far richer in energy& This

system allo4s for the refrigerant to ,e 4armed and *ressuriKed to a very high energy state ,efore it enters

the condenser and at a very lo4 energy state ,efore it enters the eva*orator& 5ro*er mani*ulation of

refrigerant allo4s for ?uic9 and easy transfer of energy through a heat *um* 4ater heater&

16 |



(va*orators and condensers are very similar in structure and o**osite in function& They are ,oth a series

of coils that allo4 the refrigerant to *ass through a system 4ith a large amount of surface area& It is this

surface area that *romotes ma)imum heat e)change ,et4een the refrigerant fluid and the outside

environment& . condenser is a system of coils 4here high energy refrigerant dissi*ates energy to theoutside environment and an eva*orator is 4hen lo4 energy refrigerant is allo4ed to a,sor, energy from

the outside environment& .n eva*oratorHcondenser can ,e seen in igure . &

Figure 6. The a,ove image is an eva*oratorHcondenser& The visi,le coils are 4hat allo4 for energye)change&

There 4ere other com*onents of our system that *layed a 9ey role in refrigerant mani*ulation& It 4as this

mani*ulation that allo4ed for the energy to e)change from the outside air to the 4ater& There 4ere other

*ieces of our system that cycled the refrigerant and moved energy from the outside environment into the

4ater&

-&* T.e C/0"e(ach *iece of the system hel*s to *re*are the refrigerant for high and lo4 energy environments& Before

the refrigerant enters the cold 4ater 4ith lo4 energy 4e 4ant it to ,e of a very high energy so that it can

dum* the ma)imum amount of heat energy into the 4ater& It is the o**osite 4hen the refrigerant is going

to interact 4ith the am,ient tem*erature& The com*ressor condenser e)*ansion valve eva*orator and

accumulator all 4or9 in a cycle to move the most energy *ossi,le through the system& The com*ressor

changes the refrigerant from a lo4 *ressure and lo4 tem*erature va*or into a high *ressure and high

tem*erature va*or& This change *re*ares the refrigerant to dum* energy into a less energy intensive

environment& The condenser is used to *ass that high energy into the 4ater& 6hen the refrigerant leaves

the condenser it has lost a significant amount of its energy& The e)*ansion valve allo4s the refrigerant to

significantly lo4er in *ressure and tem*erature& 6hen the refrigerant leaves the e)*ansion valve it is a

mi)ture of li?uid and gas& This state is *erfect for a,sor,ing energy 4hich it is a,out to do in the

eva*orator& 6hen in the eva*orator the refrigerant is e)*osed to the am,ient tem*erature of the outside

17 |



environment& -ere it suc9s heat energy through diffusion from the outside air& .fter the eva*orator the

refrigerant should ,e com*letely a gas ,ut sometimes it is still *artially li?uid& The natural ne)t stem in

the cycle 4ould move the refrigerant ,ac9 into the com*ressor ,ut li?uid could damage the com*ressor&

8or this reason 4e have an accumulator in *lace to ensure no li?uid enters the condenser and damages the

system&

This cycle is sho4n in igure / ,elo4& The energy in the system moves counter3cloc94ise& 6hen the red

line is moving u* that sho4s the elevation in energy content caused ,y the com*ressor& 'onversely 4hen

the red line is moving do4n that is also the energy level changing due to the e)*ansion valve& The t4o

horiKontal lines re*resent the condenser and eva*orator and that is 4hen the energy in the system moves&

Figure 7. . ty*ical va*or com*ression cycle on a T3s diagram refrigerant changes state and energycontent as it cycles through our heat *um* 4ater heater&

It is through these ste*s that the outside air is used to *um* heat into 4ater& The refrigerant and the *ro*er

4or9ing of the system causes ma)imum energy efficiency as the heat from the environment is *assed into

the energy sin9 in this case the 4ater tan9&

-&, 1T.e Beast2The system itself 4as ,uilt ,y +o,ert Landes a so*homore IS.T student a certified refrigeration

mechanic& -e distinguished the name AThe Beast for its large siKe and *o4erful demeanor& It contained

com*onents of the ,asic -56- and 4as a,le to *erform in that manner& System com*onents consisted

of indoor and outdoor units a 4ater *um* an <0 gallon 4ater tan9 and a suction line accumulator&

-&,&% T.e Outdoor and (ndoor )nitsThe heat *um* unit 4as a Lenno) (lite Series -SE2 2> air3to3air heat *um*& 6ithin this unit there is a

com*ressor& The refrigerant used ,y this system 4as -'8'322& This air3to3air heat *um* unit has a

cooling ca*acity of u* to E2 000 Btus /British Thermal Units every hour& This is the e?uivalent of a,out

=2&D 9ilo4atts of cooling ca*acity /energy rate & The com*ressor has a 2;&F .m* Min '!T .m*acity

and one fan motor re?uires an average voltage ,et4een 20< and 2DF and runs using a,out =H; th of a horse

18 |



*o4er& +o, Landes modified this system so that the refrigerant circulated in the o**osite direction

*ulling heat out of the air and dum*ing it into the 4ater tan9& If there 4as no modification made to the

system the vessel 4ould have had to house the outdoor unit inside of it& 6e 4eren@t *lanning to house

the unit so o*ted out on a much ,igger eva*orator rather than condenser& igure 0 sho4s ,oth the

modified heat *um* and the tan9 4ith a su,merged indoor unit and the outdoor unit on to* of it&

The indoor unit 4as 9e*t inside of a vessel 4hich 4as calculated to hold a ca*acity of E0 gallons /&=F2=

mD & 6ith the E ro4 unit inside of the vessel the ca*acity dro**ed to a**ro)imately D< gallons of 4ater&

This vessel 4ould later act as the tan9 for the integral unit&

Figure 8. The vessel on the ,ottom contained the indoor coil sho4n on the right and the unit on to*4or9ed as the eva*orator of the system

-&,&* Rest of S/stemBesides the air conditioning unit a suction line accumulator 4ater *um* and 4ater tan9 had to ,e

im*lemented for the system to 4or9& .s mentioned ,efore the suction line accumulator is in *lace to

ensure that the refrigerant that enters the com*ressor is entirely va*or thus it acts li9e a ,uffer& The

com*ressor is ,uilt to handle va*or only and if li?uid entered the com*ressor it could ,e damaged&

19 |



Figure 9. This *icture sho4s the suction line accumulator& This is the ,lac9 cylinder to the left of the *icture& The *um* used to circulate the 4ater through the system is sho4n on the right&

The *um* 4as res*onsi,le for moving the 4ater through the vessel and into the storage tan9& 'irculation

4as im*ortant to the system as a 4hole ,ecause the vessel itself could not hold enough 4ater necessary

for an average sho4er& .n <0 gallon 4ater tan9 4as used to store the 4ater and to o,serve the

stratification that occurred as the 4ater cycled through the system& To o,serve stratification the hottest

4ater 4as to come through the to* and at the coldest *arts of the 4ater ran through the ,ottom of the

tan9& 8or a normal sho4er to ,e ta9en the hottest 4ater 4ould ,e ta9en off the to* 4hile the cooler 4ater

4as 9e*t at the ,ottom&

3&' E4PER( ENTAL DES(GN

The system configuration used for this *ro1ect 4as ,ased on the system configuration from that of the

:a9 +idge Study and methodology& In the study :+CL 4as a,le to test ,oth the .dd3on and %ro*3in

systems& Their configuration included attaching thermocou*les throughout the system s*ecifically the

am,ient air tem*erature 4ater tem*eratures and into and out of the condenser& :nce the ,asics

com*onents 4ere attached the system 4as run until a desired out*ut of roughly =20 8 4as o,tained

20 |



4hich is a**ro)imately Ahot sho4er tem*erature& Li9e that of the :+CL study the coefficient of

*erformance 4as to ,e measured and o,tained to calculate the efficiency of the system& -o4ever :+CL

also calculated the energy factor of the systems and this *ro1ect didn@t ta9e that into account&

3&% Too"s and ateria"sThe tools of the system 4ere *ro,a,ly one of the most integral *arts of the overall analysis and readings&

6ithout them 4e 4ouldn@t ,e a,le to ma9e an overall analysis or coefficient of *erformance calculation&

The materials and tools used for the system 4ere *retty ,asic com*ared to those used ,y :+CL&

-o4ever they gave us a *retty ,asic measurement similar to that of :+CL and allo4ed us to see 4hat

goes into *erforming an analytical calculation similar to that of :+CL& %ifferent tools used in this

*ro1ect ranged from 4att3hour meters thermocou*les La,Vie4 TM and data ac?uisition devices 4ere all

used in this *ro1ect&

3&%&% Watt5.our eterLi9e an electricity meter a 4att3hour meter is a device that measures the amount of electricity energy

su**lied to a house device or ,usiness& :riginally the 6atts U* 5ro (S *o4er meter 4as *urchased to

read the *o4er out*utted ,y the *um* and eva*orator& -o4ever through am*erage constraints and 4rong

rece*tacle and *lug ty*es a ne4 *o4er meter 4as used& . digital clam* ammeter for .' currents

manufactured ,y T(CM. 4as used to read the rising am*erage of the system& 8or correct use there had

to ,e a s*lit ,et4een the ground and the active lines of the cord 4hich 4as *retty dangerous ho4ever

4ith some electrical ta*e and safety *recautions ris9 of electrocution 4as 9e*t at a minimum& igure !1

sho4s ,oth the 6atts U5 5ro (S and the digital clam* in use&

Figure 10. Both the 4att3hour meter and the digital clam* ammeter in use the 4att3hour meter 4asn@tused ,ecause the eva*orator@s rece*tacle 4asn@t the correct one&

21 |



3&%&* Data A0$uisition De6i0e%ata .c?uisition %evices are devices that ta9e real 4orld data and from that data mani*ulate them using a

com*uter& 8or the thermocou*le readings to interface 4ith La,Vie4 TM a thermocou*le interface card

/T'I' 4as used to *rovide this connection& :riginally 4e meant to use t4o devices manufactured ,y

Cational Instruments& -o4ever 4hen they 4ere in use 4e couldn@t seem to get the correct tem*eratures

or signals out from them& There 4as too much noise 4ithin the cards 4hich gave inaccurate readings&

Therefore the :M(#. ® -igh S*eed < 'hannel card 4as *urchased and used for this *ro1ect& :nce

im*lemented the :M(#. ® device *rovided more accurate tem*erature readings and a *erformed much

,etter than the original devices&

3&%&, T.ermo0oup"es

Thermocou*les are tem*erature sensors and their ,asic *ur*ose is to convert the thermal *otentialdifference into an electrical *otential difference out*utted onto a com*uter& Thermocou*les are *retty

easy to im*lement and can measure 4ide ranges of tem*eratures ho4ever *recision in tem*erature

readings is their main limitation& 8or this *ro1ect Ty*e3( thermocou*les 4ere used to measure the

tem*eratures throughout the 4ater tan9 am,ient air tem*eratures and the tem*eratures into and out of

the condenser&

To create the thermocou*les the ti*s of the ty*e3( 4ire had to ,e soldered correctly so the ti*s touched

and the *otential difference could ,e read throughout the 4ire& This involved using a soldering iron andconnecting the ti*s so that there could ,e a direct connection& :ne *ro,lem 4e encountered 4as that t4o

thermocou*les 4e soldered didn@t ta9e the tem*eratures from the co**er tu,ing surface in and out of the

condenser and 4e had to *urchase ne4 thermocou*les that 4ould ,e a,le to read the tem*eratures& :ne

solution 4e found 4as to use cement3on thermocou*les 4hich ,asically had a finer ti* than 4hat 4e

soldered and stuc9 directly to the surface of the condenser co**er tu,ing& igure !! sho4s the ,asic ty*e3

( thermocou*le 4ire and a cement3on thermocou*le used to find the tem*eratures going into and out of

the condenser& Table # sho4s the accuracy range and resolution of a ty*e3( thermocou*le&

Table 2. Sho4s the distinct characteristics of Ty*e3( thermocou*les

(nput T/pe Range A00ura0/7 89C: Reso"ution 89C:

E 3200 to =000N' /3D2< to =<D2N8 O=&F 0&0=F

22 |



Figure 11. Ty*e3( thermocou*le 4ith the violet and red 4ires and the cement on thermocou*le 4ith its *erfect connection at the end and a *ad that is ready to stic93on any surface&

3&%&- La!;ie< T

To *erform the calculations and analysis of the coefficient of *erformance the data ac?uisition device@s

readings 4ouldn@t have ,een a,le to ,e ta9en 4ithout La,Vie4 TM& The La,oratory Virtual

Instrumentation (ngineering 6or9,ench /La,Vie4 TM uses dataflo4 language to structure gra*hical

,loc9 diagrams to *erform data ac?uisition instrumentation control and industrial automation to *erform

visual and analytical analyses of a system& 8or this *ro1ect La,Vie4 TM 4as used to ac?uire tem*erature

readings throughout the system and these tem*eratures 4ere then e)*orted the data into ()cel& It *rovided

a *ractical user interface 4hich 4ould hel* us e)*ort our data and let us see the data ac?uisition in real

time as it 4as ha**ening& It 4as et to ta9e a**ro)imately 2 measurements every second&

3&%&3 Engineering E$uation So"6er 8EES:(ngineering (?uation Solver also 9no4n as ((S ® 4as used to *erform the uncertainty analysis on the

':5 of the system& It hel*ed 4ith the ,uilt3in thermodynamic *ro*erty information and 4ould *erform

an uncertainty analysis ,ased on the system com*onents automatically& By *rogramming in the systems

e?uations varia,les and uncertainty of each measurant a ':5 analyses 4as calculated and a**lied

4ithout any trou,le&

23 |



=&' ETHODOLOG+

The methodology for this *ro1ect 4as ,ased of the same system configuration and methodology

*erformed off the :a9 +idge Cational La,oratory study& The fundamental methodology consisted of

attaching the thermocou*les throughout the tan9 and to the condenser in and out& :nce all the

thermocou*les 4ere attached run and monitor the system until the desired out*ut 4as o,tained 4hich

4as different from :a9 +idge 4ho ran it for the lifetime of the -56-& :nce the desired out*ut 4as

o,tained *erform an analysis and calculate the 'oefficient of 5erformance the efficiency of the system&

This same methodology 4ould first ,e a**lied to the .dd3on System and later the %ro*3in system&

24 |



=&% Add5on S/stemThe original *lan for this *ro1ect 4as to test the efficiency and o,tain the coefficient of *erformance for a

modified .dd3on heat *um* 4ater heater& igure !# sho4s a schematic of the modified .dd3on -56-

used in this *ro1ect& 8ive thermocou*les 4ere *laced throughout the 4ater tan9 t4o thermocou*les on the

in and out of the condenser and one thermocou*le to measure the am,ient tem*erature& .s de*icted in igure !# the 4ater loo* occurred on the ,ottom of the tan9 to the to* and the refrigerant loo* occurred

4ithin the vessel and eva*orator& Through stratification hot 4ater flo4ed to the to* of the tan9 4here the

coldest 4ater flo4ed out of the tan9 through the ,ottom&

Figure 12. Schematic of the modified -56- system

=&%&% Ca"i!ration of T.ermo0oup"eTo *re*are for accurate tem*erature readings 4e first had to cali,rate all the thermocou*les then install

the thermocou*les ,ased on the system configuration& 'ali,ration of the thermocou*les 4as a very sim*le

*rocess& 'ali,ration is ,asically the *rocess of determining the relation ,et4een an out*ut /in our case the

tem*erature and the value of the true in*ut& 6e are fundamentally trying to get all the thermocou*les to

read a standard measurement tem*erature& 'ali,ration of the < ty*e3( thermocou*les involved a ,ea9er of

freeKing ice 4ater at tem*eratures near or close to 0 ° ' and a ,ea9er of ,oiling hot 4ater at tem*eratures

roughly around =00 ° ' on a hot *late& The ne)t ste* involves using La,Vie4 TM to e)*ort the data out into

()cel ® & Therefore after starting the La,Vie4 TM *rogram 4e then di**ed all < thermocou*les into to the

cold icy 4ater then after a num,er of seconds ?uic9ly moved the ,undle from the cold 4ater to the hot

4ater and 4aited around 2 to D minutes until the tem*eratures 4ere close to that of the hot 4ater

tem*erature of =00 ° '& .fter reading the out*utted data 4e 4ere a,le to o,tain cali,ration curves for each

25 |



individual thermocou*le and that 4as the cali,ration curve for each thermocou*le 4ithin La,Vie4 TM&

igures !$ and !, sho4 the overall cali,ration curves of the < thermocou*les and an individual

cali,ration curve of one thermocou*le&

Figure 13. 'ali,ration curve for all eight thermocou*les as you can see it 4ent from cold to hot ,ac9do4n to cold again

Figure 14. 'ali,ration curve for an individual thermocou*le

=&%&* (nsta""ation of t.e T.ermo0oup"es8or the .dd3on system five thermocou*les 4ere *laced throughout the 4ater tan9& .fter the cali,ration

4e had to find a *iece of material small enough to fit the diameter of the o*ening in the 4ater heater& .

5V' *i*e 4as chosen ,ecause the diameter of the o*ening 4as less the P inch& The tan9 height 4as

a**ro)imately F feet so every thermocou*le 4as *laced roughly one foot a4ay from each other& 6ith this

configuration stratification 4ithin the 4ater tan9 could ,e o,served the hottest 4ater at the to* of the

4ater tan9 and the coldest 4ater at the ,ottom of the tan9& .s de*icted ,y igure !- the diameter of the

o*ening at the to* of the 4ater tan9 4as fairly small and the 5V' ,arely fit through that o*ening& .s

26 |



de*icted in the .dd3on schematic five thermocou*les 4ere *laced throughout the 4ater tan9 and three

thermocou*les 4ere *laced as the am,ient tem*erature and the condenser inlet and outlet&

Figure 15. 5V' *i*e through the to* of the 4ater tan9 /left and the *lacement of the five thermocou*les

on the 5V' *i*e /right &

=&* (ntegra" 8Drop5in: S/stemVery similar to that of the .dd3on system the %ro*3in -56- had the same *ur*ose of heating u* 4ater&

-o4ever instead of heating u* the se*arate 4ater tan9 4e measured the tem*erature of the 4ater 4ithin

the vessel& igure !. sho4s a schematic of a dro* in system& T4o *arts 4ere ta9en out of the .dd3on

system ,ecause they 4ere not needed& They 4ere the 4ater tan9 and the *um*& Instead of heating u* the

4ater tan9 the D< gallon vessel 4as used&

Figure 16. . schematic of the %ro*3in system

27 |



=&*&% (nsta""ation of T.ermo0oup"esInstead of ta9ing five measurements in the vessel li9e in the .dd3on system three measurements sufficed&

To get the thermocou*les into the 4ater vessel they 4ere attached to a very thin 4ire and *ut through a

*urge hole that 4as used to *urge *ressure& igure !/ sho4s 4here the thermocou*les 4ere installed in

the vessel and the 4ire that the thermocou*les 4ere attached to&

Figure 17. .ttached thermocou*les and through the *urge 4hole of the vessel

>&' DATA ANAL+S(S?CALC)LAT(ONS

The overall goal for this *ro1ect 4as to run the system to its desired out*ut of a**ro)imately =20 ° 8& :nce

this tem*erature 4as o,tained the coefficient of *erformance 4ould then ,e calculated and analyKed&

>&% Running t.e S/stem6e ran the system for ,oth an .dd3on -56- and a %ro*3in -56-& igures !0 and !2 sho4 the

La,Vie4 TM front *anel that 4as used for each of the systems& 6ithout La,Vie4 TM the data 4ouldn@t have

,een a,le to ,e o,tained through ()cel ® & 6hile the system ran the La,Vie4 TM front *anel allo4ed us to

see the tem*erature fluctuations and stratification o,served in the 4ater tan9&

28 |



Figure 18. La,Vie4 TM 8ront *anel for the .dd3on unit

29 |



Figure 19. La,Vie4 TM 8ront *anel of the %ro*3in unit

>&* Effi0ien0/ Ca"0u"ationsThe -56- industry relies on t4o inde)es of energy efficiency they are the coefficient of *erformance

/':5 and the energy factor /(8 & The ':5 is a measure of instantaneous energy out*ut of a system in

com*arison 4ith its instantaneous energy in*ut& The (8 is a measure of a 4ater heater@s overall energy

efficiency ,ased on the amount of hot 4ater *roduced *er unit of fuel consumed over a ty*ical day& Three

factors that hel* calculate the (8 are the recovery efficiency stand,y losses and cycling losses

throughout the -56-& .verage ':5s of a -56- range from =&03D&0 as average (8 for a -56- ranges

from 0&F32&0&

:+CL 4as a,le to calculate the (8 and ':5s of their systems& -o4ever this *ro1ect only calculated the

':5 of the system ,ecause of time constraints and com*lications 4hich 4ill ,e discussed in later

sections it 4as not run for the full lifetime of the system& The efficiency e?uation for anything is usually

out*ut over in*ut& The e?uations ,elo4 sho4 the ,asic ste*s in finding the ':5 of a heat *um* 4ater

heater&

(1)

30 |

in ,net

H HP W

QCOP ==

In*ut+e?uired:ut*ut%esired



8*:

(3)

To o,tain the ':5 from our data out*ut 4e first had to *ic9 an instance of time 4here 4e thought all

tem*eratures 4ithin the 4ater tan9 4as the highest& 6e then a**lied the a,ove e?uations into ((S ®

4here 4e 4ere a,le to calculate each *art of the e?uation and ':5&

>&*&% Add5on S/stem Ca"0u"ations

igure #1 sho4s the ((S ® out*ut and in*ut of the .dd3on -56-& .s you can see ((S ® 4as *rettyeasy to use to calculate ,oth the ':5 and any other calculations needed&

Figure 20. ((S ® out*ut and e?uation 4indo4 for the .dd3on -56- system

.s you can see the ':5 of the .dd3on system 4as ?uite lo4& This ha**ened ,ecause of many factors that

affected the system discussed in later sections& ((S ® 4as also a,le to calculate an uncertainty analysis

attri,ute to the system mainly lea9s and cutting and turning on the *um*& This 4as automatic and too9the tedious *rocess of long calculations of *artial derivatives and num,ers a4ay&

>&*&* Drop5in S/stem Ca"0u"ation.s you can see in igure #! the %ro*3in system configuration 4or9ed out much ,etter than that of the

.dd3on system& It fi)ed a num,er of factors that affected that of the .dd3on&

31 |

[ ][ ]

i f

p

p H

T T ΔΔ

C c

m

T mcQ

−=

=

=

∆=

39JH9gheats*ecific

9gmass 6here2o

[ ][ ]hrsTimeTime

6atts5o4er 6here2

Time5o4er

=

×=

×=

V I

W in ,net



Figure 21. ':5 calculation for the %ro*3in system

The ':5 for the %ro*3in system 4as much higher than that of the .dd3on system& This 4as ,ecause there

4as no heat loss through the 4ater loo* and room for error& Li9e the .dd3on system calculations ((S ®

*rovided an uncertainty analysis so that tedious calculations 4ouldn@t have to ,e made& 6ith this

calculation already in*utted into the *rogram made life a lot easier&

.s de*icted in igure ## the stratification of the tem*eratures can ,e o,served& This 4as only for three

thermocou*les *ut throughout the vessel& .lso in igure ## the ':5 *rofile of our system 4as *retty

good and the system 4as most efficient at D0 minutes and 4e ran the system to a**ro)imately ;0minutes& The ':5 started to dro* after it reached its high ,ecause the efficiency of the eva*orator started

to dro*& +efrigerant inside the eva*orator got 4armer and couldn@t ,ring in any more energy from the

am,ient air&

Figure 22. Tem*erature *rofiles and the system ':5s ,oth as a function of time

32 |



@&' E;AL)AT(ONS?OBSER;AT(ONS

Theoretically the configuration for this *ro1ect should have 4or9ed out ?uite 4ell and the efficiency of

the system should have ,een ?uite high& -o4ever there 4ere many com*lications ,rought on 4ith the

system& (ach system had its se*arate set of errors ho4ever this configured -56- system 4or9ed as it4as su**osed to and ended u* 4or9ing out ?uite 4ell&

@&% Add5on S/stemMany of the *ro,lems encountered throughout this system occurred 4hile the .dd3on system 4as ,eing

used& The main *ro,lem encountered 4as flo4 rate differences& Unli9e that of :+CL this system had no

flo4 rate controls 4hich controls the amount of flo4 into and out of all the o*enings and throughout the

*i*e& :nce the thermocou*les 4ere installed inside the 4ater tan9 4e noticed that the 4ater 4ould flo4

into the tan9 ,ut the 4ater didn@t flo4 out of the ,ottom of fast enough as the *um* 4as *um*ing in the

4ater& igure #$ sho4s the o*ening of the tan9 and ho4 the ,all valve at the ,ottom restricted the flo4 of

the 4ater into the hose& This resulted in the ,uild u* of *ressure inside of the 4ater tan9 and since the

thermocou*les 4eren@t closed off lea9s throughout the to* of the tan9& :ne 4ay to solve this 4as to seal

off the o*ening at the to* of the thermocou*le hole&

Figure 23. The ,all valve at the ,ottom of the tan9

:nce the thermocou*le o*ening 4as sealed off 4ith caul9 4e figured the *ressure 4ould ma9e the flo4

out of the ,ottom of the valve come out faster& -o4ever this didn@t ha**en either and ne4 lea9s occurredthroughout the system& That 4as our main *ro,lem lea9s lea9s and more lea9s& 6ith the *ro*er

im*lementation of flo4 control for instance ,eing a,le to control the horse*o4er of the *um* and thus

the 4ater flo4 rate of 4ater loo* or ,eing a,le to o*en u* the ,ottom valve of the tan9 more the lea9s

could ,e reduced and less maintenance 4ould ,e needed& 6e found that the main *ro,lem and cause of

33 |



the lea9s 4ere the *ressure differences throughout the system mainly from the o*enings of the hose and

the *um* *i*es going into the 4ater heater&

:nce the lea9s in the 4ater heater 4ere fi)ed lea9s in the 4ater vessel 4here the condenser 4as

contained started to form& The ':5 of our system 4as so lo4 ,ecause there 4as constant maintenance ofthe system throughout the run& 'onsidering all the lea9s 4e had a regiment of 4here 4e had to turn on the

*um* and 4hen there 4as a lea9 from the 4ater tan9 4e cut the *um* off and let the lea9 su,side then

4e noticed a lea9 from the vessel and had to turn on the *um*& This really 9illed our efficiency ,ecause

4e 4eren@t getting the hottest 4ater into the tan9 at all times& This 4as a real *ro,lem for us so 4e

decided to s4itch to the %ro*3in -56- configuration& igure #, sho4s the lea9s from ,oth the 4ater

tan9 and the vessel& .s de*icted 4hen there 4as a lea9 from the 4ater tan9 4e had to cut the *um* off

then 4hen there 4as a lea9 form the vessel 4e had to turn the *um* on to 9ee* the 4ater flo4ing&

Figure 24. Lea9 from the to* of the tan9 and a lea9 from the vessel

@&* Drop5in S/stem6ith the %ro*3in system 4e didn@t encounter nearly as many *ro,lems as 4e did 4ith the .dd3on

system& 6e 4ere a,le to run the 4hole system and actually ac?uired a tem*erature of =20 ° 8 4hich 4e

4ere ?uite *roud of& Because the %ro*3in system 4as ,asically the vessel of the condenser 4e 4ere a,le

to heat the 4ater u* *retty fast& :rdinarily an integral ty*e -56- system has a F0 gallon 4ater tan9 and

there are ,ac9 u* electric resistance 4ires to heat the 4ater u* faster if needed& :ur system 4as

a**ro)imately D; gallons and 4e didn@t have any electric resistance 4ires attached to it& :ur 4ater heated

u* to a**ro)imately =20 ° 8 in roughly one hour 4hich is ?uite slo4 com*ared to other 4ater heaters&

-o4ever 4e 4ere ?uite ha**y 4ith the outcome ,ecause the system actually *erformed as intended&

34 |



@&, Bot. S/stems6ith ,oth systems 4e noticed there 4ere some efficiency issues that may have affected the ':5s& The

amount of refrigerant charged 4as ?uite lo4 4hen 4e ran the system and Mr& +o, Landes had to refill it&

:nce the refrigerant 4as refilled to a ,etter su,cool level at the suction of the com*ressor 4e noticed the

condenser get a lot 4armer than it did ,efore and it heated the 4ater faster than it normally had& .nother *ro,lem for ,oth systems 4as the lac9 of insulation 4e had around our *i*ing for the 4ater cycle& . lot of

heat 4as lost from this *i*ing and once lost it couldn@t come ,ac9& 6e also had *ro,lems 4ith the

thermocou*les in the condenser inlet and outlet& :riginally the soldered thermocou*les 4ouldn@t conduct

4ith the co**er tu,ing and insulation *ut around the thermocou*le& 6e had to *urchase the ty*e3(

cement on thermocou*les to solve this *ro,lem& They had more accurate reading and 4ere very easy to

im*lement& .nother *recaution 4e had throughout this *ro1ect 4as our com*uter e?ui*ment and

electronic e?ui*ment 4as no farther then 2 feet a4ay from the system& Lea9s resulted to a lot of e)*osure

to the e?ui*ment and the ris9 of electrocution&

35 |



&' CONCL)S(ONS AND RECO ENTDAT(ONS

'onsidering that ,oth the .dd3on and %ro*3in system 4ere ,oth mani*ulated and configured air

conditioners to 4or9 as -56-s 4e 4ere ?uite ha**y 4ith the outcomes and e)cited to see a real cycle

and ho4 the things a**lied in ,oo94or9 and a classroom setting 4ere actually a**lied& In all conte)ts 4e4ere a,le to re*licate the e)*eriments conducted ,y :+CL ,ut in a very much smaller scale&

&% ORNL 6ersus )sBelo4 in igure #, sho4s an average of 4hat :+CL o,tained for their =0 systems and 4hat 4e o,tained

for our system& .s you can see :a9 +idge *erformed very 4ell and 4as a,le to ta9e measurements for the

lifetime of their -56- systems& . lot of this had to do 4ith many factors that :+CL had and 4e didn@t&

8irst :a9 +idge had a steady environment and 4as a,le to re*licate the different environments for their

different stages& They had ,etter and more accurate e?ui*ment 4hich they 4ere a,le to measure and

control flo4 rates and levels of 4ater 4ithin the tan9s& :+CL also had ,etter insulation throughout their

*i*ing of the system 4hich *revented heat loss& Since :+CL 4as e)amining the lifetime of the system

too they 4ere mainly trying to calculate the energy factor and didn@t e)amine the ':5 into de*th& To

reiterate :+CL 4as testing real -56- to *erform in a residential and commercial environment 4hile

our system 4as a modified system to *erform li9e a -56-&

Figure 25. +esults of ,oth :+CL and the *ro1ect@s system

&* #ina" Ana"/sisThe main goal of this *ro1ect 4as to ,e a,le to calculate and e)amine the efficiencies of a modified

-56-& 6e 4ere a,le to o,tain the ':5 of our system for ,oth an .dd3on and %ro*3in ,asis& :+CLhad and ':5 of 2&;= 4hile ours had a ':5 of around =&=> 4hich 4ould ma9e it initially more efficient

than some electric and gas 4ater heaters ,ut not nearly as efficient as a manufactured -56-& 6hen

com*ared to electric and gas 4ater heaters our system *erformed 1ust as 4ell as they did& So *otentially

our system could ,e im*lemented in a real 4orld conte)t ho4ever it@s not very li9ely that something of

that sort of system a system 4ith no *ro*er insulation 4ould ,e installed in your house&

36 |





=$ (nergy Information .gency& A U3S3 4atural 5as Mar6ets" Mid'Term )rospects for 4atural 5asSupply3+ (I.& :nline& htt*$HH444&eia&doe&govHoiafHservicer*tHnatgasHcha*terE&html& June 2002&

2$ Un9no4n& AThe (idden 7ost of ossil uels3+ Union of 'oncerned Scientists& :nline&htt*$HH444&ucsusa&orgHcleanQenergyHfossilQfuelsHthe3hidden3cost3of3fossil3fuels&html& .ugust 200F&

D$ Mur*hy +&6& Tomilinson J&J&& ield Tests of a 8Drop'in9 Residential (eat )ump *ater (eater3+ :a9 +idge Cational La,oratory& :+CLHTM32002H207& Se*tem,er 2002&

E$ Ba)ter Van Lin9ous +&L& A (eat )ump *ater (eater Durability Testing : )hase II3+ :a9 +idge Cational La,oratory& :+CLHTM3200EH===& May 200E&

38 |

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/natgas/chapter4.html.



http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/fossil_fuels/the-hidden-cost-of-fossil-fuels.html


http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/fossil_fuels/the-hidden-cost-of-fossil-fuels.html



%%&' APPENDEND(C(ES

Appendi A& S*ecs for the digital clam* ammeter

39 |



Appendi B& Manual for the 6atts U* 5ro (S

40 |



41 |



Appendi C& S*ecs for the Lenno) (lite Series -S 2>

S*ecifications of Lenno E"ite Series HS * .ir 'onditioner$/Modified ,y Ro!ert & Landes to an .ir3to36ater -56-

L(CC:G Industries Inc& %allas Ta)esMHC$ -S2>30E23=ESHC$ F<><8 EF=<D

Compressor8s: =+efrigerant$ HC#C5**8actory 'harge$ F l,s =0 :Ks(lectrical +ating$ = 5- ;0 -K+L. /+unning Load .m*s $ 20&D

L+. /Loc9ed +otor .m*s $ =27'ooling 'a*acity$ 2; 000 to 2> 200 BtuHhr

/≈ >&= to @&= WF note that DE=2 BtuHhr R = 96Min '!T .m*acity$ .m*erage Minimum$ 2;&F

#an otor8s: =%esign 5ressure$ -i$ 27< *sig Lo$ =EE *sig

Cominal Voltage$ 20<H2DF V /Min =>7H Ma) 2FD V

42 |



5-$ =8L. /8ull Load .m*s $ =&=-orse*o4er$ =H; h* / ≈ %*3 WFnote that = h* R 7E; 6Ma) 8use or '!T& B+!&$ 8usi,leH'ou*le 'ircuit /-.'+ 5(+ C(' $ E0

Appendi D& S*ecs for the T'I' Series :M(#. card

43 |







46 |



Appendi #& Suction line accumulator descri*tion

47 |





Appendi H& La,Vie4 ™ 8ront *anel for the .dd3on unit

49 |



Appendi (& La,Vie4 ™ 8ront *anel for the %ro*3in unit

50 |



Appendi & ':5 calculation and its uncertainty analysis using ((S ® for the .dd3on unit

51 |



Appendi K &':5 calculation and its uncertainty analysis using ((S ® for the %ro*3in unit

Documents

Design and Test of a Heat Pump Water Heater