Combined Heating & Cooling Packs

When one of our key customers approached us to look at replacing both their existing HFC packs and gas boilers, the Space Engineering design and manufacturing team provided a brand new concept to combine both heating and cooling in a single pack.

The new design combines refrigeration and a heat pump.  The compressors target refrigeration requirements but, in the winter period when the refrigeration capacity is reduced, and heating demand increases, the system can optimise the refrigeration compressor side with the heat pump side to maximise demand.

Benefits of the pack:

• One single enclosure
• One Vessel
• Single control panel
• Simplified pipe work
• Negates the need to purchase two separate systems for heating and cooling

One of the key features for both packs is that DT1 & DT2 are connected to false load evaporator circuits.  These are used to create a false suction load on the compressor pack, mainly during the winter period when demand is low.  This creates heating through the refrigeration pack discharge to the water side plate heat exchanger.  The water site, once heated from the plate heat exchanger, is connected to storage tanks and these deliver the store heating and water supply, without the need for traditional gas boilers.

Two packs have been installed on site.  DT1 and DT2 are different designs to enable us to see how each performs over a 12 month period.  A review can then take place to compare cost, design simplicity and performance for specific applications.

DT1 is supplied with refrigeration side specific gas cooler, two standalone false load evaporators and two false load evaporator valve stations. The pack will be supplied hot gas defrost fee and return to both false load evaporators via the valve stations.

DT2 is supplied with one single refrigeration side gas cooler and integral false load evaporator having 3-circuits. Defrost for the evaporator is completed by using warm air drawn through the gas cooler coil.

The project went well, with minimal disruption to the clients ‘live’ environment.  Space and the client are in discussions over a potential roll out programme of Heating & Cooling Pack installations across further sites.