The goal of the Advanced Heat Recovery Project is to design and install a direct expansion heat pump system for the Engineering Science and Research Building at the University of Maine, which will save the university over twenty thousand dollars per year.  The Engineering Science and Research Building houses laboratories which require high ventilation air rates.  The building currently requires 65,000 cubic feet per minute of outside air twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week to meet OSHA regulations.  At the present time there are no systems installed to recover wasted energy that is released to the atmosphere after passing through the air conditioning system. 

The Advanced Heat Recovery Project seeks to design and install an air recovery system to decrease the amount of energy required to maintain OSHA requirements at the Engineering Science and Research Building.  The heat recovery system will take advantage of a direct expansion heat pump which has the capability to recover more energy with greater efficiency than a traditional water-glycol system.  A state of the art compressor utilizing magnetic levitation bearings will power the direct expansion system, eliminating the need for oil lubrication within the compressor. 

Reduction in energy consumption is at the forefront of the project’s design.  The project has the potential to prevent 291 lb per hour of carbon dioxide, a major green house gas, from reaching the atmosphere.  The Advanced Heat Recovery Project will lead the way for the University of Maine to reduce its energy consumption, and become a more environmentally conscious establishment.