Kohler and Lewis, Mechanical Engineers

WATER SOURCE HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS

by Daniel C. Lewis, M.S.M.E., P.E. Water Source Heat Pump Systems:
Water source heat pump systems consist of multiple water source heat pump (WSHP) units, a building piping loop, cooling tower, and boiler. The WSHP units themselves are water-to-air heat pumps comprised of a compressor, water/refrigerant heat exchanger, airside coil (refrigerant/air heat exchanger), reversing valve, fan section, filters, drain pan, and cabinet. WSHP units are available in many configerations including horizontal units for above the ceiling applications, small and large vertical units, rooftop units, and console units. All the unit configurations except the console units require a ductwork system for delivering conditioned air to the space. Console units are rarely ducted through the outside wall for ventilation air in this climate because air entering the WSHP units should be above 60 F.

Refrigerant:
These units currently use R-22 (HCFC-22) refrigerant. R-22 is scheduled to be phased out of use by the year 2020 according to the Montreal protocol. R-22 is the same refrigerant used in residential air conditioning systems. R-22 has a ozone depletion factor (ODF) of 0.05, and a global warming factor (GWF) of 0.37. Most people expect that R-410A will start to replace this refrigerant within the next few years. Therefore when units fail they would need to be replaced with units using the current refrigerant (probably not a problem since the units are inexpensive and to some extent throw-away). There is no problem mixing units with different refrigerants.

Building Water Loop:

Each zone or space will have one or more WSHP units which are connected to a two pipe water loop (one supply pipe and one return pipe). The heat pump units either reject heat to or extract heat from the piping loop depending on whether they are cooling or heating the space. This system will therefore recover and redistribute heat when some of the units are in the heating mode and other units are in the cooling mode. This is an advantage particularly where there is an interior building core which requires year around cooling, and a perimeter zone where heating is required in the winter. Rejected heat from daytime cooling requirements can also be used for nighttime heating requirements when thermal storage is provided. The piping loop is kept between 60 F and 90 F, which are the lower and higher limits for heat pump operation. The piping loop therefore does not need to be insulated which is a cost savings. If many or all of the building zones require heating then heat must be added to the piping loop to keep it from dropping below 60 F. Typically heat is added by a conventional boiler through a water-towater heat exchanger (because of the difference between normal boiler operating temperatures and the loop temperature). When all or most of the building zones require cooling then heat must be rejected from the loop using a closed cicuit evaporative cooler, a cooling tower and a water-to-water heat exchanger, or sometimes heat is rejected to a river or other heat sink.

Kohler and Lewis, Mechanical Engineers

Kohler and Lewis, Mechanical Engineers

Advantages of WSHP Systems:

WSHP systems provide good zoning capability, each unit can provide cooling or heating irregardless of what the other units are doing, or whether the rest of the building is in occupied mode or not. Small horizontal ceiling units can be relocated easily, or added as needed for changing building or tenant requirements. If a unit fails, the rest of the system remains operational (unless the boiler or cooling tower fails). Electrical energy use for the individual heat pump units can be metered for each tenant to recover at least a portion of heating and cooling costs (does not include the pumping, boiler and cooling tower operating costs). The installed cost of WSHP systems is lower than most competing systems, particularly two and four pipe fan coil systems because of savings in piping, pipe insulation, and control costs.

Disadvantages of WSHP Systems:

The primary disadvantage of WSHP systems is added maintenance. A typical system will have a large number of small heat pump units, all of which require maintenance, and repair or replacement as units fail. A WSHP unit is more complex and has more moving parts than a simple fan coil unit. In addition, the cooling tower is prone to freezing, and requires winterization. Cooling towers themselves are an added and often "strange" maintenance item.

Kohler and Lewis, Mechanical Engineers