New issue of HPC Newsletter

Heat pumps are a key technology for saving CO2 emissions. However, most residential heat pumps presently use hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s) or  hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s) as refrigerants, which have various degrees of global warming potential (GWP) impact, from low to very high. Present challenges to combat climate change calls for heat pumps with low greenhouse gas emissions, both regarding direct and indirect emissions. Also, it is clear that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution!

Heat pump refrigerants is the topic of the recently released issue 4/2011 of the IEA Heat Pump Centre Newsletter. The F gas directive is demystified, and the recent UN Environmental Program report on HCFC replacement is presented. On the technical and research side, low-GWP refrigerants hydrocarbons and hydrofluoroolefins (HFO’s) are presented.

Further in this issue, there is a review of sorption cooling technology, which makes it possible to use waste heat from power plants and industrial processes, or energy from solar energy or biomass. This issue also features a presentation of the heat pump market in China.

The IEA HPC Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter/journal from the IEA Heat Pump Centre (HPC), an international information service for heat pumping technologies, applications and markets. Visit the website at www.heatpumpcentre.org

The IEA Heat Pump Centre Newsletter can be downloaded from
http://www.heatpumpcentre.org/en/newsletter/Sidor/default.aspx