Johnson Controls has built a prototype air source heat pump for temperatures below -29 degrees Celsius. Heat pumps York YZV and York HMH7 for cold climates are already capable of operating at temperatures down to -15 degrees Celsius.
As part of the US Department of Energy Cold Climate Heat Pump Competition, Johnson Controls is developing residential heat pumps for cold climates.
The American heating technology manufacturer currently offers two residential heat pumps that meet the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP) cold climate air source heat pump specification – York YZV and York HMH7. Cold climate heat pumps operate at temperatures down to -15°C with a seasonal efficiency factor (HSPF) of up to 10.5 and an efficiency factor (COP) of over 2 at -15°C.
“In the next few years, we will have heat pumps that can maintain full heating capacity at 5 degrees Fahrenheit and efficiently heat spaces into sub-zero temperatures,” Mark Lesance, senior director of sustainability and regulation at Johnson Controls, told pv magazine. . “This level of performance is critical to maintaining a clean, resilient network during winter peaks.”
As part of the Cold Climate Heat Pumps competition, the company will develop and market heat pumps with temperatures as low as -29°C or lower. While York YZV and York HMH7 use R-410A refrigerant, next generation heat pumps will use R-454B. Lessance claims that this will “reduce the global warming potential (GWP) of the refrigerant by almost 80 percent.”
The company said it wants the cold climate heat pump to be AHRI 1380 certified. According to Lessance, this “will allow utilities and integrators to require connected heat pumps to reduce their power consumption by 70%, 40% and turn off, depending on required degree of reduction. to provide such online interactive services.
Carrier of the USA and Trane Technologies of Ireland also developed prototypes for the field test phase. Lennox is the first manufacturer to successfully prototype and win the cold climate heat pump competition in June 2022.
*This article was modified on December 30, 2022 to reflect that Lenox is the first heat pump manufacturer to solve the problem of cold climate heat pumps.
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Air source heat pumps have been operating in extreme cold for decades, and York’s disinformation is an attempt to educate people about their lousy product.
Oh! Lennox is the worst! They sell it so cheap because the parts are expensive! Rheem and Trane are known for their reliability. I wouldn’t recommend any other brand. On the other hand, split-system air conditioners are almost identical. All but one company use pretty much the same Copeland compressor and have a decent coil design. If you have dogs, get something with a metal casing that is fully louvered, as dog urine can corrode the aluminum fins. Trane has its own compressor design that is virtually indestructible. With the exception of a dirty coil causing a burnt condenser and occasional fan failure, most condenser units are fine. But you have to be diligent in the oven. Both Lennox (Ducane, Armstrong, Heatcraft, etc.) and Carriers (Payne, Bryant, Tempstar, etc.) sell for less and cost more to repair. Goodman has reinvented itself as a better brand than it did ten years ago. It’s best to go with a brand’s main line like Rheem (not Ruud or Weather King) as these are stripped down versions used in budget builds. They work well but lack the options and reliability of their higher names. For example, the Weather King usually comes as a single stage unit, 80 or 90 percent with a simple three speed fan. Its Rheem counterpart is available with at least 4 speed blowers, ECM blowers, single stage, two stage, multi stage burners with 80%, 90%, 95% efficiency. You definitely get what you pay for, but do your due diligence. In this industry, more is not better. As the efficiency of the house increases, the block size decreases. If your 1960s home has had windows replaced, new siding and insulation, you will need to downsize your stove and air conditioner. In the 1960s, our furnaces were large, over 100,000 Btu and 70% efficient. Without making any changes to your home, a new stove will cost 75,000 BTUs or less, depending on how efficient it is. By upgrading your home, you can bring it down to 60,000 BTUs! Also, these older stoves will heat up for 5+ minutes before the fan turns on and it gets colder in your house, then the burner turns off at the set time and continues to blow hot air for a few minutes. Between heating cycles, the temperature can vary by ten degrees! Now the blower works less than a minute after the burner starts, 30-45 seconds after the start of the call and heats up more slowly (heats furniture and walls), so at the end of the heating cycle they continue to give up. heating in air, and set the temperature differences to a maximum of a few degrees lower. We don’t just heat and cool your home, we make it comfortable, safe and efficient. We can provide humidity in winter, effectively filter allergies, and sterilize microorganisms with ultraviolet rays. Our job is to make our customers happy!
Heat pumps are more common in the temperate southern states, but I’m not a fan! ! ! ! Central and South Florida should never have heat pumps, we only use heat a few times a year. In cooling mode, a heat pump and direct cooling are the same machine without any of the benefits of a heat pump. Five undeniable facts:
2. Other components can fail and cause the biggest headaches for us HVAC guys. I’m looking at your TXV capacitor, defrost plate and check valve!
3. More copper pipes, more steel parts to hold the refrigerant (think of rust), more chances of refrigerant leakage.
4. Compressor life is shorter as the machine runs all year round and not just when cooling is needed, although admittedly this is not a problem in Central and South Florida as we never use heat.
Don’t get me wrong, if I lived in North Florida, Alabama, Georgia or the Carolinas I would be a big fan of heat pumps, but a little further north or south in those areas, heat pumps aren’t worth it. trouble in my opinion. People who don’t know what they’re talking about or have ulterior motives are promoting heat pumps as a one-stop solution to problems we don’t even have.
Too bad the US can’t let Johnson Controls jump into the lake by moving its headquarters to Cork, Ireland to avoid paying US taxes. Johnson and other companies that are moving their headquarters abroad to cut taxes should be banned from selling their products in the United States.
You would have to tell a lot of companies to do the same! Snap-On Tools have moved to the UK although they are still headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin. So, American-made tough guys need to buy another brand! Parker Pens left Janesville, Wisconsin for England after being acquired by Gillette. Now they belong to the Newell brand and are made in France. Several presidents have used Parker pens to sign some of the most important documents in history, but have completely disappeared from the American market. Johnson controls the Milwaukee bail, and Harley-Davidson is looking to take the next step. HD turns 120 next year and they are all in Milwaukee. Will there be a 121? I could go on and on about how Wisconsin companies are losing out to other countries, but this is just frustrating for all of us!
I am ready to buy a cold climate heat pump next year, so I welcome the competition. Ready to get the best at the lowest price.
But hurry up, the climate catastrophe is coming and I want to give my gas company the middle finger ASAP.
one question. What harm to the environment did this new freon. From what I understand, freon destroys ozone. In the end, everything leaks, and I believe that ozone destruction is worse than the carbon under the clouds.
We switched from R22 to R410A to get rid of CFCs that deplete the ozone layer. Most systems never leak refrigerant in their 30+ years of life, so I don’t think it’s even a problem. Cars, on the other hand, get into accidents and often crack the condenser, allowing refrigerant to leak into the air. They were the first industry to switch from R12 to R134A. For those who don’t know, 2 digit refrigerant is a single product, 3 digit refrigerant is a blend, and “A” means it’s a synthetic product. Most refrigerant blends have different amounts and viscosities, and leak at different rates, so leaky systems must be completely pumped out, repaired, and then refilled with the correct amount of each refrigerant. R134 and 410A are special blends of a similar type that act more like refrigerants so they can be topped up. Most auto repair shops will be completely evacuated and refilled to avoid pollution problems that may have occurred before. This is not a typical home system, as customers usually cannot buy R22 or 410A from a store, unlike 134A for cars.
There are currently no refrigerants that deplete the ozone layer. Freon has been banned for many years. Thus, you can use any modern heat pump.
However, not much to use effectively below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Northern Illinois gets about six days below freezing (Fahrenheit) every winter. Note that “coefficient of performance (COP) greater than 2 at -15 C” does not take into account a nominal coefficient of performance (COP) of around 4 (depending on model) for optimal performance.
This means you will get half the heat at -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit). Are you satisfied with the warmth, probably not, so you will need a bigger unit. And it takes a lot of energy. Efficiency 2 looks OK if you are heating with a conventional electric heater with efficiency 1 (ONE). A few days later we were just above zero degrees Fahrenheit and my heat pump was humming, as was my radiant floor gas boiler.
A heat pump is probably a good thing, but if you’re in a frosty zone, you might need a backup once temperatures drop below 15 degrees Fahrenheit and the insulation is good.
Companies introduced heat pumps a few years ago, but they’re not just good for the northern states. You must also have a secondary source of heat, whether it be electricity or fossil fuels. Even today, with increased efficiency, low ambient temperatures make it difficult to overcome heat losses. The outdoor units require a de-icer, which is a secondary heat source that improves the performance of simple air exchange. The hype around heat pumps is still… hype! We have natural gas stoves with over 95% efficiency as well as air conditioning split systems that have a SEER of over 18, both of which can be used in multiple stages with ECM control and communication between the unit and the thermostat. I just don’t expect a heat pump to outperform a standard system in the winters of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, where it’s -F for several days in January and nearly continuous frost for three months. I now have 16-18 inches of snow on my condenser!
The hMh7 sound is the lowest decimal level I have ever seen, the only issues I had were installation errors…not performance.
How can I find a DIY heat pump that can heat a 1800 sq. feet at temperatures below 20 degrees and be energy efficient in terms of energy use? It is very cold in West Virginia in December and March. At my age, wood heating is becoming more and more difficult to maintain, and at the same time, I want to be responsible for the environment. This article makes it sound like I’ll have to wait a bit for the technology to move forward.
Looking at Panasonic T-cover models, you can see that one unit can be installed by yourself. T-capacitors have a rated power up to -15C.
Don’t replace your wood stove. Get 90% of the needed heart pump. And use firewood for the days when you can’t catch up. Plus firewood will keep you active.
You can’t, plain and simple. The only units you can buy to install yourself are mini split systems and they don’t heat efficiently in the single digits. The only heat pumps that are efficient at low ambient temperatures have ground loops that draw heat from the ground or lake bed where the constant temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Heat pumps are reversible air conditioners, so they can move heat in any direction, but the less heat there is in the air, the harder it will be to move enough to overcome the heat loss.
I need a mini split that will work in cold weather at 10 or 5°, York has a mini split to use new technology in cold weather.
This will allow utilities and aggregators to require connected heat pumps to reduce their energy consumption by 70%, 40% and turn off depending on the level of reduction required. Heat pumps that succeed in this task will need to provide such interactive services.
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