Heating, cooling and refrigeration systems

The secondary fluid is a complex mixture which also contains pH adjusting agents, antioxidants, anti-foaming agents, stabilizers, colorants, etc. These additives can stabilize and improve the fluid performance but also affects the thermophysical properties. Secondary fluid is water-based solutions of organic or inorganic substances (such as alcohols, glycols and salts) used in various indirect refrigeration systems and heat pumps. The advantages of the indirect refrigeration systems are: low refrigerant charge, low risk of refrigerant leakage, the fact that the primary refrigerant system is localized in the machine room, easy and precise control, no oil recovery problems, refrigerants like ammonia and hydrocarbons can be used; easy maintenance, no technical limitations on the distance between refrigeration and machine room, plastic pipes can be used and that it will be longer intervals between defrost periods when air cooling due to more uniform frost formation.

Building heating solutions in China: a multi-criteria system analysis based on spatial data

This project will apply the knowledge accumulated through the research in supermarket energy systems by building a unique demonstration case study is built where today’s most efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective supermarket will be designed, installed, monitored, thoroughly evaluated, and well documented.

The overall objective of this project is to develop a structured method to approach the challenge of better understanding the techniques and potential for capacity control in Heat pump systems with a focus on Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems.

The overall aim of the project is to demonstrate, using theoretical calculations, modelling, energy measurements, monitoring and business model evaluation, that a collaboration for efficient use of heating, cooling and air conditioning between real estate and supermarkets owners can be achievable for both parties.

A database, which contains operation data from more than 4000 heat pump installations throughout Sweden, can be potentially exploited by end user applications to allow manufacturers, utilities, customers or third parties to perform data monitoring and analysis. However the database suffers from incompleteness, inconsistency, lack of accuracy or sensor calibration issues. To appropriately utilize the database, we will integrate other sources such as models and lab measurements to turn the low quality data into useful information. We will develop a data-driven lab which will act as a virtual platform to improve the control strategies, fault detection and performance degradation.  

This project aimed to measure advantages and disadvantages of deep borehole heat exchangers as well as to propose design guidelines for multiple borehole fields with coaxial collectors.

In the last decades digital technologies became widely used in energy end-use sectors and digital solutions have been driving dramatic changes in the society. In the years to come, Heat Pumps are expected to turn more and more into connected devices contributing to the Internet of Things (IoT).

Industrial waste heat can be efficiently utilized by aid of low temperature heat driven power cycles. The project will provide a use-case approach in a close dialogue with industry and use and refine research findings from previous projects to provide generic insight into typical system sizing issues, working fluid selection and charge minimization of low temperature heat driven power cycles for Swedish industry.

The F-gas Regulation has set a clear goal for the entire refrigeration industry to reduce the amount of GWP fluorinated greenhouse gases. Natural refrigerants with very low GWP values such as carbon dioxide, propane and ammonia have excellent properties and the only disadvantages are flammability and toxicity in case of ammonia. In order to increase the use of these refrigerants, and to reduce climate impact, it is important to find environmentally friendly and energy efficient secondary fluids for indirect systems with low pumping power and good heat transfer properties.

Fossil fuels still account for around 7% of input energy used for the production of district heating (DH) in Sweden. With this study, we will develop a high-resolution Geographical Information System (GIS) platform, which can map the potentials of the renewable and recycled heat sources surrounding cities, and analyse cost efficient modalities of matching the sources and seasonal storages with building heat loads.

The implementation of a larger number of geothermal heat pumps (GHP) with better energy efficiency would help contributing to the 40% reduction of domestic greenhouse gases emissions by 2020, which is one of Sweden’s “miljömål” (2030 for the EU according the INDC). The other goals that this project could contribute fulfilling are “God bebyggd miljö”, “Grundvatten av god kvalitet” and “Frisk luft”.

Measured long-term performance data for ground source heat pump systems serving commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings are rarely reported in the literature. Energy use intensity figures are occasionally published, but as they necessarily lump the building loads and the system performance together, they are of limited usefulness in understanding real-world system performance.
Annex 52 will bridge the gap between those who see the heat pump system as a complex environment and the ground source as a black box, and those who see the ground source as a complex environment and the heat pump system as a black box.

Although Magnetic refrigeration is a well-known method in cryogenics, it has not been commercially used at room-temperature. In this project, the possibilities with and the potentials of magnetic refrigeration system are investigated to find the most suited application for commercializing the technology.

Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are a widespread technology in Sweden and its spread is forecasted to increase even further. However, designers of such systems lack a dedicated design tool when dealing with independent GSHPs, like in densely populated areas. This results in systems operating with lower efficiency than expected.

Annex 44: "Performance indicators for energy efficient supermarket buildings" is a European project to define the indicators required to evaluate the energy efficiency in supermarket buildings.

A new perspective for improving the heat pump system performance can be given by the development of enhanced system control strategies able to achieve a considerable increase of the system Seasonal Performance Factor together with a reduction of operation and maintenance costs.

The present project is the first official research project in Sweden which aims at designing a generic solution for Smart Fault Detection and Diagnosis in heat pump systems.

Achieving the ambitious national goals in the Swedish building sector are impossible without smart, cost-effective, scalable, and integrated solutions for heating, cooling and electricity. The goal of this project is to advance the development of an integrated heating, cooling and electricity system solution for European buildings using solar PVT technology and ground source heat pumps.

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are common in Sweden, but solar energy systems are not. GSHP could offer an ideal platform to integrate solar energy into the building and national energy systems towards meeting climate goals and increasing the share of renewable energy to 100%.

ATES-Heat Pump systems enable simultaneous supply of heating and cooling and provide free heating and cooling making them economical and thermally efficient solutions. However, suboptimal operation significantly hinders performance. Current modeling practices require extraordinary effort, domain knowledge and long computation time making it infeasible for control and operation of real systems. In this project, numerical and physics-informed machine learning(PIML) models are developed for ATES leveraging PIML ability to incorporate the physical laws governing a system in the learning process, utilizing their effectiveness in solving realistic problems and fast computation time. The models are tested on a comprehensively monitored (since 2016) ATES site and facilitate its integration into the control and operation system. The project aims to facilitate geothermal storage technology development and increase Sweden's research and industry competitiveness regarding design, modeling, operation, and control.

As a growing technology, the number of installed heat pumps in Europe was increased by 60% between 2014 and 2018, and European Heat Pump Association expects a doubling in the heat pump market by 2024. It is therefore a high priority to further increase the share of renewable sources in the heat pump’s configuration to increase the potential of energy savings and to reduce the greenhouse gas emission. The goal of this project is to study the performance of the PVT-assisted GSHP in new- and retrofitted single-family houses.