Advanced heat pump research and development

The Office of Building Energy Research and Development of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has been funding R&D in advanced heat pumps and appliances since 1976. Much of that research has been managed for DOE by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The objective of the Building Equipment Research (BER) program at ORNL has been to generate new concepts and develop a technology base for improving the energy efficiency and load characteristics of energy conversion equipment used in residential and commercial buildings. The research being pursued to achieve these objectives falls under three general areas: thermally activated heat pumps (TAHP), refrigeration systems, and building equipment systems. The TAHP work is concentrated on three technologies: (1) absorption heat pumps; (2) Stirling engine-driven heat pumps; and (3) internal combustion (IC) engine-driven heat pumps. Major project areas in refrigeration systems research include electric heat pumps, ground-coupled heat pumps, and refigerant mixtures. In the building equipment systems areas, project areas include advanced distribution systems, advanced insulation for appliances, and commercial building equipment.