The COP of a transcritical CO2 (R744) heating and cooling system at a horticultural site in Maasbree, the Netherlands, has been improved by nearly 18% with the integration of a high-efficiency propane (R290) heat pump, according to a case study produced by the system’s suppliers and contractors.
The addition of the R290 unit has increased the system’s COP by 21.8% for cooling (to 2.475) and 14.6% for heating (to 3.475), bringing the overall COP to 5.95.
The horticultural site also plans to add an isobutane (R600a) unit to the system to increase output temperatures to 80°C (176°F), which will enable thermal storage.
The case study was presented by Alessandro Farina, Application Manager at component manufacturer Castel; André Dunnebier, Technical Manager at component supplier Euro-Cold; and Wil van den Kerkhof, Technical Director at contractor Servex, during an HVAC and heat pumps session at the ATMOsphere (ATMO) Europe Summit on natural refrigerants. The conference took place November 15–16 in Brussels and was organized by ATMOsphere, publisher of R744.com.
