The influence of internal heat exchanger on energy efficiency and environmental effects of the Heat Pump using Low-GWP Refrigerants as substitutes

This paper presents an experimental analysis of the influence of heat exchanger on the performance of a heat pump system using Low-GWP refrigerants as replacements for R22. In this work, we compare the energy performance of a monitored heat pump system using NC01(composed of R32, R1234ze(E), and R134a at a mass percentage of 50%:17%:33%), R32 and R1234ze(E) with and without the presence of an internal heat exchanger. From the experimental results, COP reductions of R1234ze(E), NC01 and R32 was 12%, 4% and 1.9% respectively, although the presence of an IHX can help to lessen these reductions between 2 and 6%. The results indicated lower TEWI amounts as a result of using NC01 as an alternative to R22 with the presence of IHT (internal heat exchanger).