WATER LOOP HEAT PUMP SYSTEM THAT EXPLOITS VARIOUS RENEWABLE ENERGIES SURROUNDING A BUILDING
We are developing an energy-efficient building energy system that exploits various renewable energies surrounding a building and that serves multiple kinds of thermal demands in a building, including space heating, air conditioning, and domestic hot water supply. The system links a unique heat pump named the "sky-source" to ground heat exchangers with a water loop to which dedicated water-source heat pumps to the thermal demands are connected. This paper describes the fundamental configuration of the system, prototype development of component technologies, test results and discusses possible improvements. The concept of the system and the sky-source heat pump are unique.