ShareNext-generation HVAC technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced nearly USD 8m to advance research and development of next-generation HVAC technologies offering significant energy and cost savings in new and existing buildings.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced nearly USD 8m to advance research and development of next-generation HVAC technologies offering significant energy and cost savings in new and existing buildings.
Advanced vapour-compression technologies:
. United Technologies Research Center will receive USD 975,000 to demonstrate a centrifugal compressor that will enable high efficiency in commercial rooftop systems in the 5-to-35-kW range. These systems could provide 30% annual energy savings with less than two years payback by 2020. Mechanical Solutions and Lennox Industries will also receive USD 1m to develop a HVAC system featuring a small centrifugal compressor that is highly efficient.
Non-vapour compression technologies:
. Dais Analytic, will receive USD 1.2m to advance membrane HVAC technology using nanostructured polymer materials to manipulate water molecules, which will allow the system to condition air while improving energy efficiency and eliminating fluorocarbon refrigerants.
. Maryland Energy and Sensor Technologies (MEST) will receive USD 600,000 to develop a compact highly-efficient thermoelastic-cooling (TEC) system. Currently, TEC requires a large mechanical loading system resulting in high materials cost. MEST will solve this problem by reducing system size by a factor of 10.
. Oak Ridge National Laboratory will receive USD 1.4m to develop a magnetocaloric air conditioner with the potential to improve efficiency by up to 25% over conventional vapor-compression systems.
. UTRC will receive USD 1m to demonstrate an electrocaloric heat pump that will be 50% smaller than current models, run more quietly, and likely cost less to maintain because of its simple mechanical design.
. Xergy will receive USD 1.4m to develop electrochemical-compression (ECC) technology in combination with an energy-recovery module to replace solid-state compressors in heat pumps. ECC uses fuel-cell technology to enable heat pumps to use water as the refrigerant. Thermodynamic modeling shows efficiency improvements of 30 to 56% are attainable.
Advanced vapour-compression technologies:
. United Technologies Research Center will receive USD 975,000 to demonstrate a centrifugal compressor that will enable high efficiency in commercial rooftop systems in the 5-to-35-kW range. These systems could provide 30% annual energy savings with less than two years payback by 2020. Mechanical Solutions and Lennox Industries will also receive USD 1m to develop a HVAC system featuring a small centrifugal compressor that is highly efficient.
Non-vapour compression technologies:
. Dais Analytic, will receive USD 1.2m to advance membrane HVAC technology using nanostructured polymer materials to manipulate water molecules, which will allow the system to condition air while improving energy efficiency and eliminating fluorocarbon refrigerants.
. Maryland Energy and Sensor Technologies (MEST) will receive USD 600,000 to develop a compact highly-efficient thermoelastic-cooling (TEC) system. Currently, TEC requires a large mechanical loading system resulting in high materials cost. MEST will solve this problem by reducing system size by a factor of 10.
. Oak Ridge National Laboratory will receive USD 1.4m to develop a magnetocaloric air conditioner with the potential to improve efficiency by up to 25% over conventional vapor-compression systems.
. UTRC will receive USD 1m to demonstrate an electrocaloric heat pump that will be 50% smaller than current models, run more quietly, and likely cost less to maintain because of its simple mechanical design.
. Xergy will receive USD 1.4m to develop electrochemical-compression (ECC) technology in combination with an energy-recovery module to replace solid-state compressors in heat pumps. ECC uses fuel-cell technology to enable heat pumps to use water as the refrigerant. Thermodynamic modeling shows efficiency improvements of 30 to 56% are attainable.