Open Access
Prototype of an air to air thermoelectric heat pump integrated with a double flux mechanical ventilation system for passive houses
(Elsevier, 2021) Díaz de Garayo, Sergio; Martínez Echeverri, Álvaro; Aranguren Garacochea, Patricia; Astrain Ulibarrena, David; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
This paper describes the design of an air-to-air thermoelectric heat pump for its integration with a double flux mechanical ventilation system for domestic use in Passive House standard. The prototype has been built and thermally characterized in a test bench reproducing winter and summer conditions, with different gaps between indoor and outdoor temperatures. In addition, two different integration possibilities have been analyzed and tested: a stand-alone installation and the combination with a heat recovery unit. This prototype is composed of 10 thermoelectric modules and finned heat pipes to transfer the heat between the modules and the incoming and outgoing ventilation flows. The maximum heating capacity with 12 V supply was proven to be 1,250 W for heating and 375 W for cooling, with COPs ranging 1.5–4 and 0.5–2.5 respectively. Results show the variations in the performance of the thermoelectric heat pump depending on the voltage supply (3–12 V), the air flows (55–130 m3/h) and the temperature gaps between them. This paper demonstrates the convenience of combining passive and active heat recovery technologies (thermoelectric pump coupled to a heat recovery unit), bringing improvements on the thermal power higher than 25% for heating and 10% for cooling, with respect to the thermoelectric heat pump working directly between the incoming and outgoing air flows. The COP is also increased, especially for low energy demands, when the voltage is 3–6 V. In these cases, the COP might be improved by 50% for heating and 30% for cooling.
Open Access
Experimental investigation of a R290 domestic heat pump equipped with a thermoelectric-aided sub-cooler
(Elservier, 2025-06-01) Pendzialek, M.; Özyildiz, Tufan; Fingas, Rafal; Sánchez, Daniel; Aranguren Garacochea, Patricia; Smolka, Jacek; Haida, Michal; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The energy efficiency of heat pumps is an important factor for the sustainability and electrification of domestic heating, especially for the most common air-to-water heat pumps, which are a competitive solution to conventional heating methods. However, novel solutions for cold and moderate climate zones must be developed considering environmentally friendly natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons. One idea is to introduce a thermoelectric-aided sub-cooler into an air-to-water heat pump to improve the coefficient of performance. Therefore, this work aims to experimentally investigate a novel propane heat pump system with a prototype thermoelectric-aided sub-cooler for domestic heating. Energy analysis was performed to evaluate the energy impact of the sub-cooler in terms of ambient conditions from -10.0 ºC to 5.0 ºC, different water temperatures for heating applications in existing buildings from 45.0 ºC to 55.0 ºC and varying operating conditions of thermoelectric modules in the sub-cooler. The performance of the sub-cooler was evaluated. The results confirm that introducing a thermoelectric-aided sub-cooler can improve the heat pump performance by up to 6.0% and the heating capacity improvement by up to 17.0% for the low ambient temperature of -10.0 ºC. Furthermore, an optimal direct current voltage below 3.0 V was found for every investigated operating condition to ensure the best system coefficient of performance.

Aranguren Garacochea, Patricia

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