| The heat pump system has been designed for a given cooling load using the concepts of thermoeconomics. This method of design is based on second law of thermodynamics, i.e., interactions between entropy creation and economics related to the main components of the refrigeration system. The component sizes established from such an innovative design approach is further extended to study the heat pump component characteristics leading to system characteristics during the cooling mode. The winter heating capacity of the same system is derived by developing new component characteristics for the system under varying entering conditions for the two-phase heat exchangers. The method of approach lends itself to the determination of capacities of the system under part load conditions leading to the logical development of part load characteristics. Results discussed in this study are useful for designing heat pump systems which permits delivering the winter heating capacity equal to the winter heating demand without oversizing the compressor or the system for summer design conditions. The method permits establishing the minimum temperature of auxiliary source for winter design conditions, such as, solar assist. This feature has been demonstrated for a house located in Atlanta, GA and Madison, WI. The part load characteristics can be used to obtain energy costs of operating such a system during winter season for any given load pattern. Monthly average conditions for heating load, insolation and part load characteristics have been used to track the storage tank temperature for the residence located in these two cities. |
