Performance Analysis of an Integrated Heat Pump with Air-Conditioning System for the Existing Hospital Building Application

Chen-Yu Chiang, Ru Yang, Kuan-Hsiung Yang and Shin-Ku Lee
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Chen-Yu Chiang: Department of Mechanical and Electro-mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
Ru Yang: Department of Mechanical and Electro-mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
Kuan-Hsiung Yang: Department of Mechanical and Electro-mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
Shin-Ku Lee: Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: In this study, a complete evaluation procedure of energy-saving and efficiency improvement for a large-scale hospital retrofit project has been established and successfully validated in Taiwan. The retrofit scheme, in integrating the alternative hot water system, namely, a water source heat pump (WSHP), with the existing HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning) system, enables the capability to meet the cooling and hot water demand simultaneously with a larger safety margin as well as saving energy. In addition, it has been found that the integrated system provides a new source for cooling which can be utilized as a system redundancy in avoiding system shutdown. This is very useful when considering in specific areas in the hospital, such as intensive care unit, or operation rooms, where cooling should not be interrupted on any occasion. In this study, it is validated that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the newly added WSHP system, under heating and cooling mode, is 3.62 and 2.62, respectively. The recorded annual cost reduction by this integrated system is $102,564, with a payback of 1.2 years. The hospital after retrofit has been operating safer, with more redundancy, and more energy-efficient which warrants tremendous potential for implementation in the industry.

Keywords: evaluation procedure; hospital building; energy saving; water source heat pump; system redundancy; economic benefits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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