Development of a heat pump with propane, optimized for Danish conditions

The project will focus on phasing out fossil fuels for individual heating. The project will develop a heat pump that uses a natural refrigerant (propane), which addresses the problems encountered with the conventional refrigerants.

At the same time, the heat pump, which uses air as a heat source, will be developed and tested considering the high humidity in Denmark. The humidity in Denmark is a challenge for the existing heat pumps in the market, as it requires frequent defrosting which has a negative impact on the efficiency of the heat pumps.

Finally, the control of the heat pump will be developed in collaboration with Nærvarmverket, to ensure the best possible connection to the market. The heat pump will by default be prepared for the Danish electricity system, and the heat pump settings allow the heat pumps max. runs 1 hour in the period 5pm-8pm.

By optimizing the heat pump's performance against defrosting and minimizing the operation between 17 and 20 (where electricity tariffs are high), the operation costs of the heat pump is expected to be cut by at least 15%, compared to the heat pumps currently available on the Danish market.