FLUTE Seminar 22nd September 2022

Presented by Emanuele Zanetti, 

Title: Performance and control of novel multi-source heat pumps

Abstract:  The use of heat pumps for building heating is still limited worldwide. However, their diffusion is expected to increase in the next decades, due to green policies and to the new global scenarios we are facing nowadays. In heat pump systems, the energetic performance is strictly related to low-pressure level (evaporator pressure) and in conventional air-source heat pumps it tends to drop when the ambient temperature decreases. In addition, intermittent defrosting cycles could lead to discomfort in the building, added to the higher electricity consumption. One of the solutions that can be adopted for achieving better heat pump performance is the use of multi-source systems where the evaporating capacity can be provided by other thermal sources.
During my talk, I will present some experimental and numerical results obtained during my research activity on two multi-source heat pumps: one air-solar heat pump and one air-ground heat pump. These systems and their evaporators were specially designed to work with natural and low-GWP (Global Warming Potential) refrigerants and using innovative layouts (i.e. dry and flooded evaporation). Due to the complexity of such unconventional systems, prediction tools for proper sizing (evaporator models) and operation (i.e. switching between sources) have been realized and the simulation results will be presented.

Biography:  Dr. Emanuele Zanetti is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padova, Italy. He received a Master Degree in Energy Engineering at the University of Padova and a PhD in Thermo-Mechanical Engineering from the same institution. He currently works with the STET (Sustainable Thermal Energy Technologies) Research Group and his research topics mainly regard heat pump systems and control, solar energy conversion (thermal) and refrigerant two-phase flow with heat transfer.