Advanced R744 Heat Pump for simultaneous heating and cooling with advanced energy optimization and defrost strategies.
Prospect Silicon Valley
Recipient
San Jose, CA
Recipient Location
$489,611
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
Flow Environmental Systems’ 20-ton ANSWR Heat Pump arrived at the Department of Energy’s FLEXLAB testing facility on March 12, 2025. The project team is finishing functional testing and commissioning of the unit on-site prior to the kickoff of the testing period at the end of March. During the testing period (April & May), DMG North will be leading site tours at FLEXLAB for any interested parties to learn more about the project and see the heat pump in person. These tours will kick off DMG’s Training Program that will continue at their San Jose Training Center in May.
For more project updates and upcoming events, visit ProspectSV’s Pathways! https://www.prospectsv.org/pathways
Pathways is a comprehensive engagement program that funnels our projects into three separate tracks: Buildings, Fleets, and Resiliency. Check out the Building Decarbonization Track web page for more information and resources on this project.
The Issue
Reducing California’s GHG emissions from the buildings sector 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 will require various technologies and measures that can help decarbonize building systems, beginning with space and water heating - the two largest sources of building emissions. Additionally, the transition to using low and ultra-low GWP refrigerants is another cost-effective strategy to decarbonize buildings. In this project, an efficient air- or water- source heat pump with ultra-low GWP (GWP=1) refrigerant can replace gas-fueled heating and water heating appliances, offering heating, cooling, and domestic water simultaneously from a single product. This project will also tackle the economic barriers related to the high initial costs of heat pumps for large commercial buildings and technical barriers concerning the need for high temperatures during winter months.
Project Innovation
ProspectSV, Flow Environmental Systems, DMG North, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are partnering to demonstrate an advanced, cost-competitive, high-efficiency large air-source and water-source heat pump using ultra-low GWP refrigerant. This project aims to evaluate the performance of the heat pump in replacing gas-fueled heating and water heating appliances while reducing initial costs through innovative modular design. Additionally, it seeks to advance efficient and dynamic operations of heat pump systems in large commercial buildings, providing simultaneous heating, cooling, and domestic hot water. DMG North will also host one of the heat pumps to facilitate knowledge transfer and presentations to industry leaders involved in building systems and maintenance.
Under this project, we will install a 20-ton heat pump unit at the LBNL’s FLEXLAB testing facility. FLEXLAB® is the first testbed in the world that can evaluate the energy efficiency of major building systems, as an integrated system, under real-world conditions. The testbeds can monitor and assess heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, windows, building envelope, control systems and plug loads — in any combination.
This plan addresses multiple research questions pertinent to large building heat pump HVAC, outlined below. The research objective is to address technical challenges associated with heating decarbonization in large commercial buildings:
Electrical infrastructure. Existing buildings may require significant upgrades to electrical infrastructure to support the increased load from heat pumps.
Energy efficiency and performance, including climate and load sensitivity. The efficiency of heat pumps can decrease significantly in extremely cold climates, requiring supplementary heating sources, which can complicate the system and increase costs. The performance of heat pumps can vary based on the building's insulation, windows, and overall energy efficiency, which can affect their effectiveness and efficiency.
System compatibility, and integration with existing systems such as a heating distribution system including a steam radiator.
Grid-interactive efficient operations such as HVAC air-side load shed or shifting control strategy - global temperature adjustment (GTA) (with preheating) and HVAC plant-side load shifting control strategy - thermal energy storage (TES).
Occupant comfort and control. Heat pumps can sometimes struggle to maintain consistent temperatures, particularly in large spaces with varying heating needs.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
This project will result in benefits to grid/utility operators and building owners in the state. The benefits to California IOU ratepayers include (1) lower first cost of heat pump installation in existing building retrofits or new constructions, (2) reduced energy bills from high efficiency heat pump operations under either heating, cooling or simultaneous heating and cooling mode, (3) reduced peak demand charge through the dynamic control of heat pump operations, and (4) environmentally friendly R744 refrigerant (CO2) in place of R134a and R410A refrigerants.
Affordability
This project will tackle the economic barrier of high initial costs of heat pumps for large commercial buildings. Because this technology replaces both a chiller and boiler with one electric unit, the customer will experience a net decrease in utility bill spend over time. Combined with annual savings on maintenance costs, the total capital cost differential can be recouped within approximately 4 years, dependent on the building.
Safety
This project’s system will showcase the benefit of a safety class A1 refrigerant vs A2L, A3, and B2L, and highlight the reduction of PFAS, TFA, and other harmful toxic chemicals in the water supply.
Environmental Sustainability
Assuming Flow's electric heat pump system replaces an HFC chiller and boiler system, it will permanently remove 187 metric tons of equivalent CO2 emissions annually. The unit's high COPs also mean that upgrades to the building’s electricity infrastructure is not necessary, unlike with an HFC chiller/electric heater alternative.
Key Project Members
Doug Davenport
Subrecipients
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Flow Environmental Systems
DMG North
Match Partners
Flow Environmental Systems
DMG North
