Lowering the cost of heat pump technology

Lowering the cost of heat pump technology

Heat pumps are seen by many as a way forward to net-zero. However, approaching this goal requires greater adoption of the technology, which relies on cost savings in manufacture.

Various types of heat pumps exist. The most common is air source but there are also ground source, water source and hybrid that offer advantages in certain conditions. With their ability to operate in reverse, removing heat from a building during summer, they can maintain a comfortable temperature year-round.

While a traditional boiler converts 90% of energy input into heat, a heat pump creates more heat energy than the electricity it consumes. Typically, 2.5kW to 5kW of heat can be produced from 1kW of electricity.

Motors are a fundamental component of every heat pump as they drive the fans and pumps that make the system work. While many are used for blowing air and circulating fluids, the AC motor used in the compressor has the most complex control requirements as it sees the greatest variability in torque requirements.

The AC motor is also the largest consumer of electrical power, so control must be efficient to access the full benefits of heat pump technology. Field-oriented control (FOC) enables precise control of motor speed and torque while minimizing overall losses and boosting efficiency.

FOC does entail some complex calculations and, for traditional microcontrollers (MCUs) this can present a problem as they lack adequate instruction sets. While a DSP could be used, they often lack the infrastructure for interrupt driven I/O control. Often the solution is to use multiple devices, but this has cost penalties associated with it.

MCUs such as the TMPM4KL from Toshiba address this situation by integrating the company’s highly optimised Advanced Vector Engine (A-VE) that is designed specifically for FOC. This accelerator module implements the additional functions needed and includes hardware units dedicated to pulse-width modulation (PWM).

The TMPM4KL is powerful and versatile enough to control two motors and other key system elements including boost PFC, solenoid valves and a pump-motor controller.

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