Star Refrigeration of the United Kingdom has launched a CO2 heat pump for commercial applications that generates hot and chilled water simultaneously.
It’s called Envitherm, and sources report it can generate chilled water for air conditioning systems, while producing hot water at temperatures up to around 158F for showers and taps. Supplied as a single pre-assembled compact unit, it can be used in both new and retrofit installations.
"With rising energy costs in the HVAC market, heat pumps are becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for the building services industry," says Star Refrigeration's Director of Innovation Dave Pearson. "Using waste heat from air conditioning for useful heating can help cut operating costs and reduce carbon footprint," says Pearson.
The system may also be eligible for Renewable Heat Incentives. With chilled water/glycol as its heat source, the system uses transcritical CO2 compression to produce high grade heat. This heat is capable of raising mains water temperature to over 70°C in a single pass.
"Envitherm essentially delivers 'free' hot water with zero carbon emissions, as water is heated as a by-product of the water/glycol chilling process. When configured to continuously deliver hot water, the initial capital cost of Envitherm will be recovered in less than three years due to energy cost savings. With current carbon reduction funding incentives, the return on investment will typically be under two years,” Pearson says.