TripleAqua wins EU award for best heat pump innovation

The EU Renewable Heating and Cooling Platform has selected the TripleAqua, an energy-efficient heat pump that has been installed in commercial locations in the Netherlands, as the best innovation project in the heat pump category of its awards programme.

“I’m absolutely delighted that the Steering Committee has declared TripleAqua the winner, out of 27 entries,” said Menno van der Hoff, manager of R&D HVAC for Dutch supplier Uniechemie (Union Chemicals).

Uniechemie is a division of Swedish HVAC&R distributor Beijer Ref, which is marketing TripleAqua and displayed a unit at its Chillventa booth in October 2016. Beijer Ref’s initial sales focus has been in Europe.

According to Beijer Ref, TripleAqua can save up to 50% in heating and cooling costs in commercial buildings (including office buildings, hotels and hospitals) compared to traditional heat pumps, with a COP (coefficient of performance) between four and 10.

Internal energy storage

The system employs propaene (R443A), a mixture of the hydrocarbons propane (R290) and propene (R1270), with a global warming potential (GWP) of three and a charge of less than 11 lbs. (5 kg). “Propane is known for its efficiency and propene outperforms propane at negative temperatures,” said van der Hoff. “And propene has a strong smell, which people like for safety.”

TripleAqua has the ability to store heat and cold in buffers for later use in the building, providing heating and cooling simultaneously or individually. It uses three water-loop pipes to distribute heat and cold, and to return water at ambient temperature.

In May, the TripleAqua won the NL Eneco Innovation Award for heat pumps at the triennial IEA Heat Pump Conference in Rotterdam.

Van der Hoff will present the Triple Aqua at a session of the EU Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels tomorrow (16:00-17:30, Résidence Palace).