Performance of a Stirling engine powered heat activated heat pump

A heat activated heat pump (HAHP) which employs a natural gas fired Stirling engine to drive a Rankine cycle vapor compressor is presently being developed by the American Gas Association, the Gas Research Institute, The Department of Energy and the General Electric Company. The concept of a HAHP has the potential for reducing the amount of gas required for space heating since it directly utilizes the engine waste heat in addition to the energy obtained by the heat pump effect. The Stirling engine/Rankine cycle refrigeration loop heat pump being developed would conserve about one-half the gas required by conventional space heating equipment. As a result, this gas could be made avail-able for new residential customers or for alternate applications. Additionally, the Stirling/Rankine concept offers an efficient and competitive means of providing summer cooling. This paper updates the status of the HAHP program as it was presented at the 12th IECEC. The present paper concentrates on a description of the hardware comprising the HAHP and presents the results of sub-system level testing, including the combustor, Stirling engine, compressor and air handler packages. The impact of measured component performances on the system level performance predictions is discussed.