Subcooling effect on the optimal performance for a transcritical CO2 heat pump with cold thermal energy storage

This paper studies the combined heating and cooling thermal performance of a CO2 heat pump system considering the sub-cooling effect. For such a system without cold thermal energy storage (CTES), the gas cooler outlet temperature normally needs to be controlled to match the cooling load required. However, the integration of CTES would enable the system to be operated under its optimal conditions depending on the ambient temperatures, i.e. a considerable amount of cooling capac-ity can be generated and stored for later use. A configuration of a CO(2 )heat pump integrated with CTES is described in this paper. A thermodynamic cycle and a simulation model considering the subcooling effect have been developed. The math-ematical model for the pinch point analysis has been newly validated against published experimental data with acceptable agreements. In the case study, the impacts of the subcooling temperature on the optimal combined performance under four ambient temperatures (5 degrees C, 15 degrees C, 25 degrees C, and 32 degrees C) have been studied. The highest optimal combined COP of 5.38 can be achieved when the ambient temperature is 5 degrees C. The detailed profiles of CO2 temperatures, heating and cooling loads, and the COPs when the CTES is in operation have been revealed for the first time. It is found when the ambient temperature is higher than the water inlet temperature (plus the pinch point temperature), the optimal cooling COPs can even have a surge without the subcooling effect, due to a lower sCO(2) temperature leaving the heat exchanger compared to the ambient temperature. Additionally, performance analysis for the CO2 heat pump system with or without CTES is compared, and it is concluded that all optimal heating, cooling, and combined COPs integrated with CTES surpass those without CTES.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the thermal performance of a CO2 heat pump system with both heating and cooling capacities, taking into account the sub-cooling effect. The integration of cold thermal energy storage enables the system to operate under optimal conditions and generate extra cooling capacity for future use.