Economic Analysis of Industrial Absorption Heat Pumps

摘要

Absorption heat pumps are a viable technology for waste heat recovery in industry. Yet, no US applications exist to date. In sharp contrast, large scale heat pumps are used in Japan, and a few recent installations have been reported in Europe. This paper presents a description of the existing technologies and applications. A comparative economic analysis of an actual application is carried out for Japan and US conditions. From this analysis, criteria and paths are identified for future technology developments that could make widespread use of these heat pumps economically attractive in the US. (ERA citation 11:054094)