Electric Heat Pump Now Challenges "Cheap" Natural Gas

The evidence is now in, the data appears complete.  An efficient heat pump with IceCOLD catalysts may well beat the cost of heating with natural gas and beat it badly.  The Goodman facility will cut their heating costs by nearly 30% by using their 16 SEER heat pump instead of natural gas.    

      We saw sharply higher heating capacity after the installation of the IceCOLD.  These effects continued well into the ranges of outside temperatures where heat pumps have traditionally been turned off in favor of other forms of heating such as propane or natural gas.  The term "hybrid heat pump" has come to mean a system whereby we use the advantages of cheap heat pump operation at warmer temperatures where the heat pump is known to do so well.  Then, at some point as temperatures fall, we shift the heating chore to a more conventional heating source.  

     In this market, our electricity is $ 0.111 per kWh and natural gas $10.60 per mcf ($0.037 per kWh.)  At this level, even a very good heat pump "balances" with natural gas at about +44 degrees outside.  Below this, the furnace is relied upon and the heat pump waits patiently for spring.  The heat pump is useful only on the warmest winter days and is used mostly for fall and spring weather. 

     However, with the IceCOLD catalysts installed, the nominal 60,000 Btuh (17 kW) system capacity was observed to maintain that capacity down from the 47 degree rating point to below 35 degrees.  Increased capacity remained available throughout all temperature ranges although it was most noticeable at temperatures below +11F (-11C).  While capacity was increased, so was efficiency.  The system's COP remained above the natural gas balance value (about 3) down into the low twenties.  This means that the gas furnace is unnecessary for primary heating needs in much of our "normal" winter climate.   

      The chart compares test results with the published Goodman data on this combination of furnace, coil and outdoor unit.  Based on a "standard" winter weather profile and the results of this test, the combination of this heat pump and IceCOLD will reduce the facility's heating costs from $863 to about $600.  These results were so startling as the test was being completed that we were forced to re-examine everything about the testing, the equipment and even our methods and calculations.  We were seeing Stage II low temperature performance that challenged credulity.  We knew from earlier testing that the effects of the catalysts would stretch system capacity and therefore efficiency as entering evaporator temperatures fell and as condenser temperatures rose.  We will challenge these results with new trials next winter and we suggest others do the same.

Goodman Heat Pump Test Proves Huge Savings - Startling!

     The Goodman heat pump test proves very convincingly that IceCOLD will revolutionize thinking about heat pumps.  After a 65 day test, the results are now in; our first look gives results even more exciting than our most optimistic expectations.

     In a preliminary post, we noted that IceCOLD was improving low temperature performance and those improvements got better as it got colder outside.  While this was expected, we were short-sighted and cut off the testing at +5 degrees outdoors.  During the last cold snap, we saw temperatures to -3 degrees and got huge results.  The catalysts greatly improved coil performance and system capacity so that the system continued delivering very warm air (108 deg F) down to the very limit of the testing. Prior to the installation,  the system achieved 108F only down to + 17 deg F outdoor temperature.

   The benefit of this increased heating capacity will be huge in climates where these temperatures are common.  In this part of Kansas, we have 550 annual hours of heating at 17 degrees and below and a heat pump must supplement its capacity with more expensive means.  We call this the thermal balance point.  Lowering the balance point to -3 means that only 23 hours of annual supplemented heating, a reduction of 96% in this expensive heat.

   The thermal balance point at Goodman's facility was demonstrated to be +6 prior to product installation and was below the limits of the temperatures available after the test.  No supplemental heating was needed after the installation of IceCOLD.  Rather, the system was still cycling between stage I and stage II at -3 degrees Fahrenheit.

   As you can see from the chart above, the installation of IceCOLD improved capacity for both stage I and stage II operation, extending the usefulness of the heat pump to colder weather conditions.   Because the testing was carried out in actual field conditions, not all combinations of staging and ambient conditions could be tested.  As an example, there was not sufficient data during the pre-test period to study system capacity at low stage below +11 degrees F.  The system did not operate long enough in that mode to establish a stable data set.  

   This test was conducted with field grade data logging equipment that was verified both before and after the testing period.  We attempted at each point to be certain that the data set was solid and that all independent variables were eliminated.  Nonetheless, we find the results so startling that we encourage and even insist that other researchers conduct their own test and even to challenge these results.  We will continue this series and post all results promptly.

Pizza Hut Study in Nebraska City - Better than expected!

    A follow-up analysis of the data from the Pizza Hut study has suggested a far better result than was found earlier.  Based on some rather limited data we noted a 24% reduction in power consumption following the installation.  The original IceCOLD test was done using traditional cooling degree day analysis.  In an earlier post we discussed the short-comings of that technique.  We were startled to see that the product appeared to give very mixed results.  At first glance, the product gave modest savings when installed in one system, yet in the other it did not.  The preliminary data suggested that the dining room system cost more to run following the installation.  Looking further at the data, we noted that the air conditioner appeared to run full-blast at night but never during the day.  This was certainly counter intuitive.

    Doing some simple pattern analysis, we discovered that the data appeared to be "shifted" by about 36 hours.  Data loggers synchronize their time with a computer when given the opportunity but something went very wrong in the process.  We created graphs of local temperature records and actual power consumption and manually shifted the two to evenly overlay each other.  No explanation is given as to how this shift might have occurred.

    Regrettably, because of the limitations of the original testing protocol, we retrieved useful data for just one day.  The purpose of this blog and this post is to "raise the bar" in testing procedures. Customers deserve to know that they are getting the results they expect.

Alternative IceCOLD Testing Strategies - The Case for Enhanced Data

     As an investigator looking into the usefulness of IceCOLD for increasing performance and reducing costs of refrigeration and air conditioning, we have learned the hard way to wary of unplanned variables.  Twice, we have even "tested the testing" trying out different logging strategies to find consistent pre-test data that is likely to remain consistent throughout the entire testing period.

    Sometimes, variables creep in that were entirely unplanned.  At the Golden Corral test, we understood that human activity (going in and out of the coolers) would be a difficult variable to track.  Therefore, total power use could vary independently of tracked variables like outdoor temperature.  We hoped that tracking coil temperatures would allow us to demonstrate the usefulness of the product regardless of how the cooler was used.  

    Thankfully, this did work.  We saw the type of benefits we expected even though the Thanksgiving week fell in the middle of the test.  Coil capacity increased remarkably as we hoped and cycle lengths were reduced as well as compressor starts.  

    Had we relied on the traditional cooling degree day methods, we would not have been able to account for the vastly different usage patterns we found in this establishment.  The customer deserves to see what results he is getting and know just how well that the product is working for him.  Enhanced data was the answer!

     Regardless of what applies in the rest of life, in data-logging there is no such thing as too much information.  Unless someone has done the exact same type of testing many times before, you can never have too much data.  As of right now, every investigation we have been involved in had surprises.  To provide the customer with the best value, we need the best data.

    The Nebraska City Pizza Hut test illustrates this well.  During the study, the data loggers were not "synchronized."  The internal timing of the loggers was incorrect and the data appeared to be useless.  This researcher noted that power and temperature data was "off" by about 36 hours.  Simply, the higher power consumption times occurred in the middle of the night and peak temperature times had lower power consumption.  We did not give up when this became obvious.

    We took some liberty with the data and shifted the times so higher temperatures corresponded with higher power consumption.  Indeed, the curves match rather well.  To get all the details of the Pizza Hut test we invite you to read that post.