Welcome to the Unversity of Maine's Department of Mechanical Engineering Residential Heat Pump design  project web page. This year our goal is to remodel and rebuild a heat pump unit that was constructed by MET students as a senior project in 2007-2008. This unit is designed to provide climate control for the majority of a residential buildings total load. Conventional heating sources would compliment the heat pump as needed in extreme cold climates. We will use state-of-the-art technology to provide optimal controls and heating load in as small a package as possible.

Project Update (2/26/2009):

The design team has finalized our Solidworks drawings for all of the major parts. We have created machine shop drawings for the sheet metal components of the case and we hope to recieve a quote for the work soon. Our new case will be wider and allow for the piping and electrical runs to be easily accesible. It will be made of sheet aluminum.

Our advisor Jim LaBrecque is working on a porject in Farmington, ME involving a supermarket in the same building as some apartments. We hope to showcase the heat pump here by using heat energy from the supermarkets refrigeration system as a heat source instead of outside air. This should allow the unit to achieve a very high COP.

Once our parts come in we will begin construction on the new unit. We hope to be testing by mid-April and we will compare our new data againtst that from the old setup to see our design improvements.

Purpose of this project:

 Problem-

• The cost of home heating oil (#2 fuel oil) has increased steadily over the past few years, and is currently selling in the $3.50 - $4.00 per gallon range
• Upgrading to a wood-pellet stove may cost $2500 or more (plus pellet fuel)
• Re-designing and installing a buildings heating system, including ductwork, is expensive and requires time and construction work to install
• Many Maine residents simply can’t afford to either upgrade their heating system or to buy enough oil to keep warm

Solution-

• The mechanical engineering design team is working to develop a mobile, off- the-shelf heat pump unit that consumers could purchase at any major retail store to replace up to 90% of a buildings oil-heating load
• The unit would be installed wherever the extra heat is needed in the house- 2 holes would be cut in a wall to provide the outdoor air, and the unit would plug into a 220v power outlet
• Traditional heating systems (oil, gas, wood stove) would compliment the heat pump on the coldest winter days

      Our design team is working on a design that will include a de-superheater for domestic hot water production. The excess             heat produced by the hot gas coming out of the compressor will pre-heat domestic water when the operating conditions               allow. If the space being heated does not need the extra heat, it will go into the hot water. On cold winter days, the hot water       capability will be minimal or shut off. However, during the summer when the unit is in air-conditioning mode, all of the excess       heat will go into the domestic water.

       For specific applications, there will also be the option to extract heat from a water coil instead of an air coil. The unit will be          sized to accept a water coil to take in warm process water from a seperate system, and use the thermal energy in the water          to heat the living space.


                                   

                                                                             Design Team 2008:
               Back row, L-R (Residential Heat Pump Project): Kyle Knowlton, Don Jarvi, Adam Koppel, Eric Bragdon
               Front row, L-R (Industrial Heat Pump Project): Justin Whitney, advisor James LaBrecque, Bonita Brooks