This invention by the Norwegian company Tequs, known for its heat pumps, in collaboration with Rivacold, an Italian manufacturer that offers commercial refrigeration solutions, promises to revolutionize heating and air conditioning completely. Both companies have launched a new heat pump that works with CO₂ currently considered the most efficient in the world.
It is a heat pump – although it can also offer an air conditioning system. plug and play. That is to say, offers a simple installation system, and is relatively compact compared to other similar products. In fact, and as Tequs states, the objective was to design a pump that could cover a “clear gap” in the CO₂ heat pump market with a smaller capacity.
In this case, the heat pump can offer between 15 and 800 kW capacity. It also allows you to heat water up to 90 degrees Celsius and, we reiterate, it can also create a cooling system in homes using air conditioning.
The most efficient heat pump in the world
This, furthermore, offers a coefficient of performance (COP) of 5.47. The COP is a type of measure to evaluate the energy efficiency of a heat pump, and is calculated by dividing the amount of thermal energy generated by the pump by the amount of electrical energy it consumes. The more COP score it has, the more efficient the pump, and 5.47 means that this is, at the moment, the most efficient heat pump of this format in the world.
Of course, this high level of energy efficiency is thanks to the CO₂ use as a coolant; a component that, in fact, many companies are using as a more natural and environmentally friendly solution compared to other components.
At low pressures and temperatures on the warm side, a CO₂ heat pump operates like any other heat pump, known as subcritical operation. When the temperature entering the heat exchanger exceeds 20-25 °C, the pressure increases so much that the CO₂ no longer condenses; this is called transcritical operation. Instead of condensing the CO₂ gas, we cool it.
The heat pump that offers a heating and air conditioning system has been designed entirely by Tequs, and the Italian company Rivacold will be in charge of manufacturing it. The company has confirmed that they are currently acquiring the necessary components for their production, and that they hope to deliver between 10 and 20 units over the next year. Although the Rivacold plant will have the capacity to produce 100 models per year.
