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Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000
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Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 2055–2062

10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, ISHVAC2017, 19-
22 October 2017, Jinan, China

Experimental Study on Heating Performance of Air - source Heat

Pump with Water Tank for Thermal Energy Storage
Xinhui Zhaoa，Enshen Longa,*，Yin Zhanga，Qinjian Liua，Zhenghao Jina，Fei Lianga
a
a 24 south Section 1，Ring Road No.1，ChengDu, SiChuan 610065，P.R.China

Abstract

Through the experiment，the coefficient of performance (COP) of air source heat pump with changing water temperature in the
tank was studied，when the ambient temperature remains almost unchanged. Then the COPs of the air source heat pump at
different supply and return water temperatures were calculated out based on the tested model.The results showed that COP equals
3.1, when the supply/return? water temperature was 21℃, and it would decrease by 0.04 with every 1℃ temperature dropping;
when the water temperature reached 55℃, COP stood at only 0.74, and the water temperature rose 1℃，COP reduced 0.12 .For
the supply and return water of 50℃ / 40℃ compared to that of 50℃ / 45℃, COP increased by 10.3%; similarly, for 45℃ / 40℃
compared to 50℃ / 40℃, COP increased by 12.9% .The system COP decreased with increasing supply and return water
temperatures, and the rate of reduction was affected by the heat loss of the piping system.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and
Conditioning.
Air Conditioning.
Keywords: air source heat pump; COP; heating capacity; water temperature;

1. Introduction

Energy saving and environmental protection are the themes of today's society, the use of solar energy,
geothermal energy, air and other green energy is an effective way to solve the problem of high energy
consumption. The air source heat pump technology can save high-grade energy and make full use of low-grade
one through energy transfer, conversion and storage. Except for energy saving, air source heat pump has many
other advantages, such as great structure compaction, high diversity and reliability. Many scholars have made

* Corresponding author：Enshen Long. Tel.:+8613981822917.

E-mail address: longes2@163.com

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and
Air Conditioning.
10.1016/j.proeng.2017.10.087
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2 Xinhui Zhao et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000

theoretical and experimental research on the factors that affect the performance of air source heat pump. Mei
Viung C et al. tested the properties of eight kind of condensers in a simulated water tank. The experimental
results show that the structure of the condenser is a vertical single loop leading to a significant stratification in
the tank [1] . Wang Yang et al. 's study showed that the evaporation temperature of the air source heat pump
hot water unit was increased by about 2.5℃ when the area of the outdoor evaporator was doubled. In the air
source heat pump operation season, the unit frost time in different areas decreased by 5.21% ~ 82.96% [2].
Zhang Xiaosong, Zhang Jie et al. Respectively, optimized the heat exchanger and capillary tube to determine
the optimal capillary length, refrigerant charge and heat exchanger coil length [3，4] . Li Yin(2005) and others
in different seasons on the air source heat pump hot water unit carried out a series of experimental studies and
found that：the same outdoor temperature, when the humidity is high, the evaporator's heat transfer efficiency
is higher (except when frost) [5] . Meyer Josua.P et al. studied the characteristics of heat pumps at different
elevations and climatic conditions. The results show that there is little effect on the heat pump COP at the
elevation of the evaporator side, but the performance is deteriorated when air is dry [6] . Wang Xiaodong and
others have shown that the air source heat pump COP is more sensitive to ambient temperature than the inlet
temperature [7].

As the ambient temperature greatly affects the COP of air source heat pump, in cold areas using water tanks
and other means of heat storage for renewable energy exploitation is particularly important. Previous research
mainly focused on thermal performance study for a single heat pump, whereas seldom conducted the dynamic
analysis of the air source heat pump performance with thermal energy storage equipment. In this paper, the
heating performance of the air source heat pump with the temperature variations of the water tank was
analyzed emphatically. Furthermore, the influence of supply and return water temperatures on heat pump
performance was investigated.

2. Methods

2.1 Coefficient of performance (COP) of heat pump

The formula of ideal heat pump COP:

TH TL （1）
COP = = 1+
TH − TL TH − TL

Where TH is the temperature of the heat sink, that is, the condensation side temperature, K; TL is the
temperature of the heat source, that is, the temperature of the evaporation side,K. It can be seen from the
formula, with the decreasing TH or TL, heat pump COP declines. Figure 1 shows the COP value of the ideal
heat pump varies with the condensation temperature, the evaporation temperature is 0℃. It can be seen that the
relationship between the COP and condensation temperature was concave curve.
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Xinhui Zhao et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 3

Fig.1. COPs of the ideal heat pump at different condensation temperature

In fact, due to the heat transfer temperature difference in evaporator and the condenser and the compressor
heat loss, friction, and many other irreversible factors, the actual heating coefficient of the heat pump cannot
reach the value of (1) . So the relationship between the temperature of the heated water and the instantaneous
COP of the heat pump needs to be further explored for the heat pump system.

2.2 Air source heat pump heating experimental platform

Under the background of the "Thirteen Five" project "Sichuan-Tibet air source heat pump heating system
integration technology research"，the air source heat pump heating experiment platform was established.
Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of air source heat pump with water tank experimental system, where, T1,
T2, T3 represent the water temperatures of different layers in the tank respectively. T4, T5 for the refrigerant
pipe outside the copper tube temperature measurement points, F1 ~ F5 for the valve. During the charging
process of water tank, F4, F5 are closed while F1, F2, F3 are open, so that the heat pump keeps working to heat
the circulated water.

Fig.2. Experimental system diagram

Experimental equipment and data acquisition instrument description:

① The air source heat pump was modified by the split air conditioner, the condensing coil was placed in the
water tank, and it was changed from the air-cooled type to the water-cooled type. The refrigerant is R410A,
and the refrigerant charge is 1.1kg. The condenser coil material is copper, diameter 10mm,the refrigerant pipe
between the heat pump and the tank length 4m, wrapped 1cm insulation cotton, coil length in the tank is 15m.
② The shape of the tank is cylinder, height 1750mm, diameter 700mm; the inner ends are spherical, the
middle is the cylinder. The tank volume is 414L, insulation layer is 50mm thick polyurethane.
③ JTDL-80 multi-channel temperature heat flow tester to record the temperature. The instrument can be
used with thermocouples to record the temperature of the measuring point by successive time. The
experimental set interval of 1 minute to record a temperature data.
④ Every 10 minutes to record a heat pump power consumption.

3. Results

3.1 The instantaneous COP of the air source heat pump

Figure 3 shows the temperature rising curves of T1, T2, T3 when the air source heat pump heated the water
tank. It can be seen that the cumulative running time of the heat pump was 12 hours, and the temperature in the
tank grew from 21℃ to 55℃, during the ambient temperature was 6 ~ 9℃ with slight fluctuations. In the
heating process, T1, T2, T3 temperature was almost the same, indicating that the water temperature distributed
uniformly in the tank. With the increase of water temperature, the curve tends to be gentle, indicating that as
the water temperature rises, the heating capacity of the water in the tank gradually decreases.
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Fig.3. T1, T2, T3 and ambient temperature

Figure 4 shows the temperature rising curves of T2, T4 and ambient temperature when the air source heat
pump heats the water tank. It can be seen that the temperature of the refrigerant entering the tank increases with
increasing water temperature and the temperature difference is between 7 and 9℃. According to the working
principle of the compressor, the condensing temperature has the decisive significance to the heat pump
compression ratio when the evaporation temperature is relatively stable. The increase of the compression ratio
will lead to the decrease of the gas transmission coefficient and reduce compressor efficiency. Condensation
temperature is too high will increase the heat loss, reduce the COP, and the exhaust temperature is too high is
not conducive to the normal operation of the compressor.

Fig. 4. T2, T4 and ambient temperature

According to the data, using Origin software can fit the equation between water temperature and heating
time:

Tw = -3 × 10 -5τ 2 + 0.0627τ + 21.225, R 2 = 0.998 （2）

Derivation of equation (2) , get the equation between the water temperature rising rate and heating time:

dTw / dτ = -6 × 10 -5τ + 0.0627 （3）

According to the energy conservation:

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Zhao et al.
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Procedia Engineering
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qw Δτ = cmΔTw +（KF）w (Tw − Ta ) Δτ （4）

By definition, the air source heat pump COP formula is:

qw
COPt = （5）
qa

Among the formula （2）～（4）：“Tw”，the water temperature，℃.“τ”，the heating time，s.“qw”，

the heating capacity of the air source heat pump, W. “qa”，the input power, W. “c”，the specific heat capacity
of water, 4200J / (kg·K). “m”，the mass of water in the tank, 414kg. “△Tw”，Can be approximated as a
temperature rise per 1 minute of water，℃/min. “（KF）w”，the tank cooling coefficient, W/K；figure 3 shows
temperature dropping curves of T1 ~ T3 during the tank natural heat dissipation, T1, T2, T3 and ambient
temperature drop evenly, through the energy balance can easily calculate the cooling coefficient is 3.2W / K. “Ta”，
the ambient temperature,℃.

Fig. 5. T1,T2,T3 and ambient temperature during the tank natural heat dissipation

According to (2) (3) (4) ，can calculate the instantaneous heating capacity of the air source heat pump.
Figure 6 shows the heating capacity curve along with the change of water temperature. It can be seen that as
the temperature inside the water tank increases, the heating capacity of the heat pump is gradually reduced.
And the higher the water temperature is, the faster the heating capacity drops. When the water temperature is
21℃, the heating capacity is 1870W, and if the water temperature rises 1℃, heating capacity reduces 25W ;
when the water temperature reaches 55℃, the heating capacity is 490W, and if the water temperature rises 1℃，
heating capacity reduces 80W .

Fig.6. The heating capacity at different water temperatures

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Every 10 minutes to record a heat pump power consumption, the whole heating process, the heat pump
every 10 minutes power consumption was 0.1kW·h, so, the heat pump input power is a fixed value of 600W.
According to equation (5), figure out the COP value, made the curve shown in Figure 7. It can be seen as the
temperature inside the water tank increases, the COP value is gradually reduced. And the higher the water
temperature is, the faster the COP value drops. When the water temperature is 21℃, COP is 3.1, and the water
temperature rises 1℃, COP reduce 0.04; when the water temperature is 55℃,COP is 0.74, and the water
temperature rises 1℃，COP reduce 0.12 .

Fig. 7. COPs at different water temperatures

Through the above analysis, the instantaneous COP of the heat pump is related tothe temperature of the
heated water. , which is inconsistent with the theoretical curve of Fig1. By contrast, the COP in the experiment
drops faster as the water temperature rises. This shows that as the water temperature increases, the heat loss
increases greatly. This is because the temperature of the refrigerant entering and leaving the tank rises with the
increase of the water temperature, and the heat loss of the refrigerant pipe is positively correlated with the
water temperature in the tank. The refrigerant pipe between the heat pump and the tank is too long, heat loss is
large, so greatly affected the COP.

Zeng Zhangchuan in the air source heat pump direct floor radiant heating experiment, calculate the system
pipeline exergy loss is 12% [8] . In fact, in the heat pump heating project, if the hot water pipe is too long or the
pipe insulation is poor, will also lead to the result : the higher the suply and return water temperature, the faster
the system COP drops.

3.2 The COP under different supply and return water temperature

Explore the relationship between COP and return water temperature at a given supply water temperature.
The COP value at the supply water temperature t1 and the return water temperature t2 can be calculated using
equation (6).

Accumulated output heat

COPt1 −t2 = （6）
Accumulated electricity consumption

From the experimental data and equation (6), calculated at the supply water temperature is 55 ℃, different
return water temperature air source heat pump COP value, make the curve shown in Figure 8. It can be seen
from the figure, in the case of constant supply water temperature, with the return water temperature increases,
COP gradually reduces, and the higher the return water temperature is, the faster the COP value drops. At the
return temperature of 30℃, the COP decreases by 6.24% compared to that of 25℃；At the return temperature
of 50℃, the COP decreases by 18.31% compared to that of 45℃.
 Xinhui Zhao et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 2055–2062 2061
Xinhui Zhao et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 7

Fig.8. COPs at different return water temperatures

Furthermore, when supply / return water temperature is 50℃/ 45℃, COP is 1.614; when supply water /
return water temperature is 50℃/ 40℃, COP is 1.781; when water / return water temperature is 45℃/ 40℃,
COP is 2.011. By contrast, when the supply water temperature is 50℃, the return water temperature of 40℃
compared with 45℃, the COP increases by 10.3%；when the return water temperature is 40℃, supply water
temperature 45℃ compared with 50 ℃, the COP increases by 12.9%.

4. Conclusions

（1） Under the experimental conditions in this paper, as the increase of water temperature in the water
tank, the COP value is gradually reduced. And the higher the water temperature is, the faster the COP value
drops. When the water temperature was 21℃, COP was 3.1, and if the water temperature rose 1℃, COP would
reduce 0.04; when the water temperature was 55℃,COP was 0.74, and if the water temperature rose 1℃，
COP would reduce 0.12 .

（2） Under the experimental conditions in this paper, when the supply water temperature was 50℃, the
return water temperature of 40℃ compared with 45℃, the COP increased by 10.3%；when the return water
temperature was 40℃, supply water temperature 45℃ compared with 50 ℃, the COP increased by 12.9%.
Reducing the supply water temperature and the return water temperature can effectively improve the COP of
air source heat pump.

（3） When the air source heat pump heating water tank，the decay rate of the COP is affected by the heat
loss of the refrigerant pipe as the water temperature rises. The higher the water temperature is, the greater the
impact on the COP. Similarly, in the air source heat pump heating project, the decay rate of the system COP is
affected by the heat loss of the system pipeline as the suply and return water temperature rises. The higher the
suply and return water temperature is, the greater the impact on the system COP.

Acknowledgements

This project is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51478280), and the
National Key Research and Development Program (2016YFC00406).

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