The development of a refrigeration compressor for domestic heat pump application

An experimental investigation has been conducted of a compressor originally designed for air-conditioning applications to determine how much its performance could be improved for use in domestic heat pumps. The compressor was a hermetic unit of nominal capacity 15.6 cm³, driven by a single phase electric motor. The application selected was for heating only, air to air heat pumps. Improvements have been achieved in both coefficient of performance (13 per cent) and heat output (7 per cent), as well as in ancillary matters such as lubrication, noise and power factor.