Optimal high-pressure correlation for transcritical CO2 cycle in direct expansion solar assisted heat pumps

Abstract

Heat demand may be met sustainably by a solar-assisted heat pump that CO₂ as a refrigerant. This is made possible by the employment of an ecologically benign refrigerant and a renewable energy source that enhances system performance. At the ideal high pressure, the CO₂ heat pump running in a transcritical cycle will function at its highest coefficient of performance (COP). In that way, this study aims to present correlations for calculating the optimum high pressure in a CO₂ direct expansion solar assisted heat pump (DX-SAHP). In this study a mathematical model for compressor, solar evaporator and gas cooler was developed and validated experimentally. The mean difference between the mathematical model and experimental results are −3.9%. Two new equations are proposed to calculate the optimum high pressure in a CO₂ DX-SAHP. The first one considered environment temperature, water outlet temperature and evaporating temperature, which are easy to measure. These facilities the use of correlation to control the heat pump. The second one considered environment temperature, water outlet temperature and solar radiation, which are more suitable for designing CO₂ DX-SAHP. A data base with 100 optimum points was used to curve fitting. Another data base with 50 optimum points was used to compare the results obtained from curve fitting and correlations for the optimum high pressure available in the literature. The proposed correlations shown a maximum error lower than 10.2% despite of the correlations available in the literature from which the errors are about 30%.