Abstract: Because of the heat pump's appeal as an energy conservation tool and its potential impacts on
electric and gas utilities, a great deal of recent attention has been focused on this type of space conditioning
equipment by national energy research organizations. This paper presents a survey of heat pump RD&D projects
with special emphasis on those supported by the Department of Energy, the Electric Power Research Institute, and
the Gas Research Intstitute.
Looking ahead to the residential and commercial space conditioning needs of the future, it is apparent that heat
pumps will play an important role in this energy use sector. This is emphasized by the remarkable growth in sales
of electric air-to-air heat pumps during the last few years and the extensive heat pump research and development
activities under way in the United States and abroad.
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), we have been conducting in-house research on heat pumps since 1976, and
since 1978 we have assisted in managing a contracted RD&D program for the Department of Energy (DOE) on residential
and commercial heat pumps. This assignment has given us an opportunity to interface with many other organizations
supporting and/or conducting similar R&D work. It is the intent of this paper, then, to present a survey of these
projects (whether recently completed, ongoing, or about to start).
Keywords: heat pump, DOE, EPRI, GTI
Availability:
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Reference:
Presented at:
Eighth Energy Technology Conference and Exhibition
Washington, DC
March 9-11, 1981
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