Low Level Heat Recovery Through Heat Pumps and Vapor Recompression

The intent of this paper is to examine the methods and economics of recovering low level heat through heat pumps and vapor recompression. Actual commercially available equipment is considered to determine the near-term and future economic viability of each approach as a function of the source and sink temperatures and magnitude of heat flow. Generic heat pumps and vapor recompression designs are explained, costed, estimated in performance, and evaluated as a function of the economic parameters such as local utility and fuel rates, hours of operation, investment tax credits, and other standard investment variables. The results are presented in a manner that permits simple economic evaluation of these technologies