Heat Recovery Ventilation Heat Pump Water Heaters: Status of the Art and Transition to Propane

A project recently initiated and entitled “Energy efficient ventilation heat pumps for buildings” aims to develop a new generation of heat recovery ventilation (HRV) heat pump water heaters (HPWH) which use propane as working fluid of the vapour compression cycle, while increasing the energy efficiency compared to the state of the art HFCs-based system and ensuring its safety. This paper describes the selected baseline R134a heat recovery ventilation heat pump water heater, presents baseline’s performance results according to EN 16147 and EN 13141-7 and provides initial indications and considerations in using propane in conformity to safety standards of use.