Chapter 37: Heat Pumps

Abstract

In this second volume, Managing Air Quality and Energy Systems, the reader is introduced to the general concepts and processes of the atmosphere, with its related systems. Heat pumps capture heat energy from low-grade heat sources such as ambient air, ground, and waste heat streams and upgrade to a higher temperature level for useful applications. This entry includes a brief history, fundamentals, classifications, applications and performance parameters of heat pumps. Working principles of the thermoelectric heat pump, the absorption heat pump, the gas compression heat pump and the vapor compression heat pump are explained. Performance parameters of the heat pump systems (coefficient of per..