Reserchers at Purdue university looking for ways to cut home Air heating costs Print
Written by Rosalind Dall   
Thursday, 15 July 2010 08:45



Purdue university analysts demonstrate to us one great solution to reduce 50% of winter heating expenses

Researchers at Purdue University are working on a new research project that promises the opportunity to cut heating bill by 50 % for people who reside in very cold climates. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, builds on previous work that began about five-years ago at Purdue's Ray W. Herrick Laboratories.

Heat pumps provide heating in winter and cooling in summer but aren't efficient in extreme cold climates. The study involves changes to the way heat pumps operate to ensure they are more cost-effective in extreme cold temperatures.

The modern technology works by modifying the conventional vapor-compression cycle behind standard air conditioning and refrigeration.

The normal vapor-compression cycle has four stages:
1° Refrigerant is compressed as a vapor
2° Condenses into a liquid
3° Expands to a mixture of liquid and vapor
4° Then evaporates

The project will investigate two cooling approaches during the compression process.
In one approach, relatively large volumes of oil are injected into the compressor to absorb heat generated throughout the compression stage.
In the second approach, a mixture of liquid and vapor refrigerant from the expansion stage is injected at various points during compression to supply cooling.

The brand new heat pumps may be half as expensive to operate as heating technologies now used in cold regions where natural gas is unavailable and residents depend on electric heaters and liquid propane.

About the article's author - Rosalind Dall writes for the ductless portable air conditioner blog, her personal hobby blog centered on ideas to help people consume less energy and purify indoor air.
Last Updated on Thursday, 15 July 2010 09:32