Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Domestic air-conditioner and integrated water heater

for subtropical climate
Jie Ji a, Tin-tai Chow b,*
, Gang Pei a, Jun Dong a, Wei He a

a
Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei,
Anhui 230026, China
b
Division of Building Science and Technology, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Received 25 July 2002; accepted 15 November 2002

Abstract
The technology of using a heat pump for space conditioning and domestic hot water heating in residences
has been developed for half a century. The earlier air-to-water heat pumps and water-heating heat pumps
suered from drawbacks like high costs, unreliable operation, and inexible applications. They were not
well positioned in the market to attract customers. This paper introduces a novel air-conditioning product
that can achieve the multi-functions with improved energy performance. The basic design principles and the
laboratory test results are presented. The results showed that by incorporating a water heater in the out-
door unit of a split-type air-conditioner so that space cooling and water heating can take place simulta-
neously, the energy performance can be raised considerably.
2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Room air-conditioner; Heat pump; Domestic hot water heating; Refrigeration; Thermal design

1. Introduction

Heat pumps were rst used in residences in 1950s for space heating and for domestic hot water
heating. They were not reliable at that time and the maintenance cost was high. After the oil crises
in the 1970s, the family-use heat pump has undergone rapid development. Desuperheaters, which
worked for heat pumps and air conditioners, were introduced in the United States market by three
manufacturers. They were then claimed to oer almost free water heating in summer whenever

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +852-2788-7089; fax: +852-2788-9716.
E-mail address: bsttchow@cityu.edu.hk (T.-T. Chow).

1359-4311/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 3 5 9 - 4 3 1 1 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 2 2 8 - 4
582 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

Nomenclature

COP coecient of performance

Q heat ow rate (W)
W power input (W)
s time period (s)
Subscripts
1 condenser
2 evaporator
c space cooling
h space heating
w water heating
avg averaged

space cooling was required, and to reduce total domestic electricity demand in houses which
otherwise had to rely on direct electric water heaters [1].
Further feasibility studies showed that air-source water-heating heat pumps were much more
economical than solar systems, which were much more popular in application. Payback periods of
23 years were anticipated [2]. Air-conditioning units with an integral hot-water storage tank and
immersed condenser, using ambient air as a heat source, were available [3]. In early 1980s, over
10,000 units of these air-to-water heat pumps for homes were sold every year in US. These early
models were suered from high purchase prices, high maintenance costs, noisy, poor longevity,
and limited installation options. These drawbacks led the market to collapse. As of 1995, the two
surviving manufacturers were only selling about 2000 residential units per year. One of them was
producing a high-end integrated heat pump/storage tank. And the other was producing a compact
stand-along heat pump that retroted onto an electric resistance storage water heater [4].
Through all these years, the technology has been emphasizing on waste heat recovery and hot
water production. Services water heating is the main task of the heat pump water heater; the
additional air-conditioning and heat recovery ventilation are the by-products. As a matter of fact,
a condensing temperature higher than 60 C is dicult to obtain with refrigerants like R-22 and
R134a. Heat pump water heaters in their normal capacities can heat water at a rate 40100% of
the electric resistance units, and 3050% of the gas units. To provide quick recovery, a household
must have a large heat pump, an unusually large storage tank, and a control system that turns on
the electric resistance backup heater whenever required. However, large water tanks are more
expensive, take up more space, and use more energy to maintain a set point. A higher-capacity
heat pump is undesirable as it costs more and the frequent startstop often results in lower e-
ciency. Some designs let the small heat pump cater for most of the hot water load, but include
control mechanism to activate the electrical heater in the tank when the demand is high. However,
this increases peak electrical demand and reduces energy eciency. For some households, an
option is to reduce peak demand by spreading out their hot water consumption over the day.
Today, technological advancements have overcome the problems mentioned above. Heat pump
water heater may turn out to be popular again. The air-to-water heat pump water heater oers an
 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592 583

energy-saving alternative. A heat pump water heater can provide hot water two to three times
more energy ecient than an electric-resistance heater. If installed properly, it can also provide
useful by-productsspace cooling, dehumidication, or heat-recovery ventilation. The extended
use of heat pump water heater in air-conditioning and heat-recovery ventilation has been reported
[4]. In Europe, advanced heat pump technology has been already in place [5].

2. Applications in subtropical region

For a place in the subtropical region, like Hong Kong, most household families use air-con-
ditioners merely for space cooling in summer. The use of heat pump is not popular because of the
relatively short and mild winter. Instead, electric heaters are used during the cold days. To obtain
hot water, the families rely on various types of water heaters, such as electric water heater, gas-
red water heater, etc. There are some limitations and problems as at present, viz.:

(a) The air-conditioner is used only in summer for space cooling and remains idle in the rest of the
year; the utilization is low.
(b) A family buys both air-conditioner and water heater; this may not be economical in terms of
cost and space.
(c) The operating cost of the gas-red or electric water heater can be higher than that of the heat
pump.
(d) The gas-red water heater depends on the stability of water-pressure on its smooth operation;
it also has the potential danger in life safety caused by the possible leakage of fuel gas or com-
bustion products.
(e) Condenser heat dissipation from the air-conditioners can be a source of heat pollution; this is
elaborated below.

For high-rise apartment buildings in Hong Kong and in the Mainland China, the building re-
entrantan open space where the kitchens receive daylight and ventilating airis a popular place
to accommodate the outdoor units of the split-type air-conditioners. The presence of these air-
cooled condensing units however, introduces a thermal problemthe thermal buoyance as a
result of heat dissipation leads to the development of a rising air plume; inadequate air exchange
at this recessed space elevates the ambient temperature, and the insucient cooling signicantly
aects the condenser performance, especially for those at the upper oor levels. The result could
be an overall degradation of the capacity and the eciency of the air-conditioners at the entire
building re-entrant. As most condensing units are unlikely to function properly at elevated on-coil
temperature because of the abnormal condenser working pressure, the problem is therefore not
only energy wastage but also equipment malfunction [6,7]. Similar problems occur in window-
type air-conditioners when they are placed at the building re-entrant [8].
Currently under our study is a novel air-conditioner that possesses multi-functions: space
cooling, domestic hot water heating, and space heating. The design is expected to overcome the
mentioned problems and limitations. Two prototypes have been produced. The following presents
their basic design concepts and the laboratory test results that illustrate the operation and eco-
nomic advantages.
584 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

3. Design of novel air-conditioning units

3.1. General principles

The proposed air-conditioner is designed for multi-task and for year round service. The device
possesses the dual functions of space air-conditioning and water heating. It is designed as a split-
type unit. A water tank with immersed condensing coils is integrated in the outdoor unit. In the
warm seasons, the novel air-conditioner provides space cooling as its primary task, and produces
domestic hot water through the water-bath heat-recovery condenser as its secondary task. In
the process, the water temperature will rise. The performance will drop because of the elevated
condenser working temperature and pressure. To overcome this limitation, an air-cooled con-
denser is connected in series with the immersed condenser. This is to overtake the duty of the
immersed condenser when the water temperature reaches a high limit. And, because of the mixed
eect of water- and air-cooling, the average performance in the cooling mode will be generally
higher than the conventional split-type air-conditioner.
The proposed product is able to work in one of the following three operation modes:

3.1.1. Provision of space cooling and domestic hot water

As the rejected heat energy at the condenser is about 1520% more than the evaporator re-
frigerating eect, the recovery of all rejected heat for hot water production is not necessary. The
hot water consumption depends on the needs of the individual family, say on the number of
family members and their living habits. As the operation time for space cooling can be lengthy, the
water heater is only to recover a part of the condensation heat energy.

3.1.2. Provision of domestic hot water as a heat pump water heater

Other than the cooling season, the proposed air-conditioner is primarily used to produce do-
mestic hot water. In this mode, the indoor unit is not in use. The air-cooler at the outdoor unit
becomes the evaporator, which works together with the immersed condenser. In order to improve
the heat exchange at the water tank, the other side-by-side condenser coil is to be put in service.
The proposed product becomes a heat pump water heater in this case. Because of the mild winter
in the subtropical region, the outdoor temperature will not drop below 0 C. In Hong Kong for
example, the average temperature in winter is 15 C, there is minimum defrosting problem even
when the ambient air is used as the heat pump heat source.

3.1.3. Provision of space heating

In the cold season, space heating may be needed. The proposed air-conditioner then behaves
like a conventional air-to-air heat pump. The air-cooler at the outdoor unit becomes the evap-
orator. The indoor unit will then provide space heating. In terms of economy in equipment op-
eration, simultaneous space heating and domestic water heating is not recommended.

3.2. Performance denition

The energy performance of a refrigeration device can be measured by its coecient

of performance (COP), which carries dierent denitions depending on its specic appli-
 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592 585

cations. Additional performance denitions can be used in the case of the novel air-condi-
tioner.

3.2.1. Space cooling and water heating mode

Because of the gradual change in water temperature, the COP of the novel air-conditioner
varies with time, even when both indoor and outdoor thermal environments remain unchanged.
At any time instance t, the COP for space cooling is given by:
Q2 t
COPc t 1
W t
and the overall COP value when the water waste heat for water heating is included is then:
Q2 t Qw t
COPcw t 2
W t
Their average values over a time period s is
Rs
Q2 t dt
COPc avg R0s 3
0
W t dt
Rs
Q2 t Qw t dt
COPcw avg 0 R s 4
0
W t dt
In the above equations, Q2 t is the heat exchange rate at the indoor unit; Qw t is heat exchange
rate at the immersed condenser; W t is the electric power input to the novel air-conditioner, and s
is the time duration of the measurement.

3.2.2. Water-heating-only mode

The water heating eciency can be dened as
Qw t
COPw t 5
W t
Rs
Qw t dt
COPw avg R0s 6
0
W t dt

3.2.3. Space-heating-only
Similarly, the COP for space heating can be dened as
Q1 t
COPh t 7
W t
Rs
Q1 t dt
COPh avg R0s 8
0
W t dt
586 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

where Q1 is the condenser heat energy released to the indoor space for a reversed cycle. This COPh
for space heating is expected the same as the conventional air-to-air heat pump, when the water
bath condenser is left idle.

4. The prototypes

Two prototypes of slightly dierent design were fabricated for performance testing. Their
features are described below.

4.1. Two-function air-conditioner

The two-function air-conditioner is able to provide space cooling and water heating, but not
space heating. This is especially suitable for applying in the tropic and subtropical areas where
space heating is not essential.
The water bath condenser consists of two heat transfer coils acting side by side. The two al-
ternative working cycles are shown in Fig. 1. The white arrows in the gure indicate the direction
of refrigerant ow in the space cooling and water heating mode (Mode 1), and the black arrows
indicate the ow directions in the water-heating-only mode (Mode 2). The switching between
these two modes is by means of the electromagnetic valves. In Mode l, Valve 1 and Valve 3 are
closed and Valve 2 is open. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor passes through Coil 1
at the water bath condenser, then directly to the air-cooled condenser without passing through the

Water bath
condenser
Air-cooled
Valve 2 condenser
Coil 1

Valve1
Coil 2

Capillary tube 1
Compressor

Valve 3

Indoor unit

Evaporator
Capillary tube 2

Fig. 1. Working cycles of the two-function air-conditioner.

 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592 587

Water-bath Air-cooled
Valve 1
condenser condenser

Four-way valve
Capillary tube 1

Valve 2
Compressor

Valve3

Indoor unit

Evaporator
Capillary tube 2

Fig. 2. Working cycles of the three-function air-conditioner.

Capillary tube 1. In Mode 2, Valve 1 and Valve 3 are open and Valve 2 is closed. Both Coil 1 and
Coil 2 of the water bath condenser are now in use to increase the heat capacity.

4.2. Three-function air-conditioner

The three-function air-conditioner is able to provide space cooling, water heating and space
heating. This is particularly suitable for applying in cold climatic regions where space heating is
generally required. However, it should not be subject to extremely cold weather; otherwise the
proposed product with a low-temperature heat source will suer from low eciency. Also de-
frosting can be a problem.
The working cycles of the three-function air-conditioner are shown in Fig. 2. There are three
modes of operation. Mode 1 is for simultaneous space cooling and water heating, Mode 2 is for
water-heating-only, and Mode 3 is for space-heating-only. The directions of refrigerant ow in
these three modes are indicated by the white, black and gray arrows respectively. The four-way
valve allows the correct refrigerant ow across the compressor in all situations.

5. Laboratory test

5.1. Laboratory set-up

To examine the performance of the novel air-conditioner, the evaporative and condensation
heat transfer in dierent modes and dierent thermal environment (i.e. the temperature and rel-
ative humidity of air) were measured.
588 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

The energy performance of the three-function air-conditioner was tested in a national-standard

laboratory. In the absence of standard testing procedures for this innovative product, the mea-
surements were making reference to the Chinese National Standard GB/T7725-1996 on space
heating and cooling devices. The thermal environments of the performance tests on the cooling
and heat modes respectively are listed in Table 1. All laboratory measurements were taken placed
in a room-type test chamber, of which the key features and provisions are shown in Fig. 3. The
entire chamber was provided with high quality thermal insulation, in that the heat exchange
(including thermal radiation) across the external enclosure was not to exceed 300 W, based on a
temperature dierence of 11 C. The two environmental chambers were separated by a well-in-
sulated partition. Individual air-handling unit (AHU) was provided in each chamber to keep the
air temperature and relative humidity to the controlled conditions. These two adjoining chambers,
here referred as the indoor chamber and the outdoor chamber, were where the indoor and out-
door units of the novel air-conditioners were placed. Surrounding each of the two chambers was
an equalizing temperature compartment, where the air temperature was maintained the same as
that in either chamber. A pressure-balancing device was inserted to monitor the pressure dier-
ence between the two chambers, and to facilitate the measurements of air leakage and air recir-
culating rates. For the water-heating-only mode, the performance tests were carried out solely
in the outdoor chamber at four dierent dry bulb air temperature conditions. These were re-
spectively 31, 25, 15 and 4.5 C. The measurements were stopped when the water bath temper-
ature rose to 70 C. And for the space-heating-only mode, the 7 C testing conditions is regarded
as a frost-free outside condition.

Table 1
Controlled testing environment of novel air-conditioner
Heat pump testing conditions Controlled air temperature at Controlled air temperature at
indoor chamber (C) outdoor chamber (C)
DB WB DB WB
Indoor unit at cooling operating mode 27 19 35 24
Indoor unit at heating operating mode 20 15 (max) 7 6

Fig. 3. Key features of air-conditioner performance test chamber.

 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592 589

3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105
Time(minute)

cooling rate(W)
input po wer(W)
COPcw100
water te mperature10(deg.C)
COPc100

Fig. 4. Performance test results of three-function air-conditioner at space cooling and water-heating mode.

5.2. Performance test results

Fig. 4 shows the testing results of the three-function air-conditioner when it operated with the
space-cooling and water-heating mode. While both the input electric power and water tempera-
ture increased with time, the COPcw and COPc drop mildly. The COPcw avg is found to be 4.02 and
the COPc avg 2.91.
Fig. 5(a)(d) show the test results of the water-heating-only mode at four dierent controlled
ambient temperatures. It can be seen that in each case COPw gradually decreases with time as the
water bath temperature increases. During the four testing periods, the COPw avg dropped from
3.42 to 2.0 when the setting of the controlled ambient temperature shifted from 31 to 4.5 C. It
should be noted that the listed COPw avg values are for reference only, since the initial water bath
temperatures were not controlled in these trial tests.
Table 2 lists the averaged testing results for Modes 1, 2 and 3. It should be noted that for Mode
3, the COPh remained constant (equal to COPh avg ) as far as the indoor and outdoor thermal
environments were xed in accordance with the specied testing conditions stated in Table 1. The
performance was close to a conventional air-to-air heat pump.
For the two-function air-conditioner, the test results are expected to be more or less the same as
the three-function air-conditioner. This is because the two prototypes are basically of the same
design, except for the complexity in the refrigeration circuit.

6. Discussions

The COPc of a conventional air-conditioner is in the range of 2.22.4. According to our

test results, the novel air-conditioner has a higher COPc (2.91 in average) than the conventional
590 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

80
60 input power/100(W )
40
wate r
20 temperature(deg.C )
0 COPw1 0
0 5 9 13 17 20 23
Time(minute)
(a) Ambient temperature at 31oC

80
60 input power/100(W)
40
wate r
20 temperature(deg.C)
0 COPw1 0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 31
Time(minute )

(b) Ambient temperature at 25oC

80
60 input power/100(W)
40
water
20
temperature(deg.C)
0
COPw*10
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
Time(minute)

(c) Ambient temperature at 15oC

80
60 input power/100(W)
40
water
20 temperature(deg.C)
0 COP w10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Time(minute)
(d) Ambient temperature at 4.5oC

Fig. 5. Performance test results of three-function novel air-conditioner at water-heating-only mode.

split-type air-conditioning unit. This is because of the water-cooling eect. If the novel air-con-
ditioner is also used as a heat pump water heater, the COPcw avg of 4.02 becomes much attractive.
This value is 38% higher than the COPc avg , and can be even higher if there is a continuous hot
water consumption. Since once the water in tank has been consumed substantially and relled, the
heat sink temperature will be lowered and the heat pump water heater will perform more e-
ciently. In order to evaluate the eect of dierent hot water consumption modes on the energy
performance, the variation of daily COP in dierent hot-water usage pattern should be further
investigated. Furthermore, as a novel product, the equipment should be made cost eective by
controlling well the initial cost and the maintenance cost. Over-sizing should be avoided.
 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592 591

Table 2
Test performance of three-function novel air-conditioner in dierent operating modes
Operating mode Averaged COP Test results
Mode 1: space-cooling and water-heating COPcw avg 4.02
COPc avg 2.91
Mode 2: water-heating-only COPw avg at
31 C 3.42
25 C 3.25
15 C 2.52
4.5 C 2.00
Mode 3: space-heating-only COPh 2.72

According to an investigation of the China market in 1999, the annual sale volume of air-
conditioners in the country was 900,0000. Only 30% of the families living in cities owned air-
conditioners. The gure reduced to 10% for the rural area. Meanwhile, the annual output of gas
water heaters was 400,000 and the annual output of solar water collectors was 250,0000. The sale
volume of electric water heater shared 60% of the total water heater market. Following the
economic growth of the country, it is expected that more and more families will have a demand on
air-conditioners and water heaters. On the other hand, the available water heaters have problems
like safety, reliability, and energy saving. At this end, the proposed air-conditioner integrated with
water heater is functionally safe, exible, economical, and environmental friendly. It is expected to
have a very good market in China, and even in other countries as well. Nishimura [9] gave a
precise prediction about the trends of using heat pump in Asia and the Pacic.

7. Conclusions

Heat pump oers a technology that reduces energy consumption, fuel cost, and global warming
eect. By integrating a water-cooled condenser to the outdoor unit of a heat pump, there are a
number of advantages, i.e.

(a) By combining the air-conditioning unit and the water heater into one product, the novel air-
conditioner turns out to be exible, multi-functional, and economical.
(b) Through the waste heat recovery process, the overall COP of the device can be much im-
proved.
(c) It can work independently as a domestic heat pump water heater; the heating eciency is
much higher than that of the electric water heater.
(d) The conventional air-conditioner only works in summer. In most time of a year, it becomes
idle. The novel air-conditioner is suitable for use in any time of a year.
(e) The laboratory test results on the prototype have been very much promising; the performance
under the space-cooling mode can be jacked up by 38% through simultaneous water-heating.
The energy performance of the space-heating mode is close to that of a conventional split-type
unit.
592 J. Ji et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 581592

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