Integrated System of Exhaust Air Heat Pump and Advanced Air Distribution for Energy-Efficient Provision of Outdoor Air

To effectively mitigate the risk of respiratory diseases, a significant supply of fresh outdoor air is necessary. However, this requirement results in a considerable increase in energy consumption. This chapter introduces an innovative integrated approach that combines an exhaust air heat pump (EAHP) and advanced air distribution to address this challenge. The findings demonstrate that the integration of the EAHP with advanced air distribution achieves energy savings through three key mechanisms. Firstly, by utilizing the waste heat from the exhaust air, the EAHP decreases the condensation temperature, thus enhancing the coefficient of performance. Secondly, advanced air distribution reduces the ventilation load. Lastly, advanced air distribution lowers the condensation temperature and raises the evaporation temperature, further improving the coefficient of performance. The EAHP alone achieves energy savings of 18%, while advanced air distribution contributes to energy savings of 36%. When combined, the integrated system achieves energy savings of 45%. When compared to a conventional system utilizing an outdoor air heat pump (OAHP) with mixing ventilation, the proposed integrated system of OAHP with stratum ventilation achieves energy savings ranging from 21 to 35% across various outdoor air ratios and temperatures.