Why should each stage work alone instead of driving the next?
A heat pump moves heat rather than making it, and that is already the most efficient way to heat a building. Heat Pump 4.0 asks what happens when two thermal stages work together as a single cascade. TECLOW's development target for the combined system is a COP of 20. That is a target derived from the concept, not a measured or certified result, and the product is not available.
The idea
- 01Two stages are connected in series, so each works across a smaller difference.
- 02The system is designed as one cascade rather than as two machines placed next to each other.
- 03COP 20 is the development target for the combined system, to be confirmed or corrected by a prototype.
How it works
- Stage 1: several vortex tubes split a compressed-air stream into a cold and a hot fraction; the project material describes the hot fraction in the order of roughly 60–80 °C.
- This heat does not go straight into the heating circuit but is passed on as drive heat.
- Stage 2: an absorption heat pump uses that drive heat to lift additional ambient heat to useful temperature.
- The usable output is the sum of both stages; the design targets their interplay, not a single component.
What is different about it
- The first stage supplies not the useful heat but the drive heat for the second.
- Vortex tubes have no moving parts, so the wear points sit elsewhere than in a compressor cascade.
- The absorption stage runs on heat rather than predominantly on electricity.
What we already have
- A worked-out two-stage cascade concept with a defined role for each stage.
- The temperature order of magnitude for the vortex-tube stage from the project material.
What we still want to prove
- COP 20 as a development target — so far a model calculation, not a measurement.
- The actual thermal output and temperature stability of the vortex-tube stage in continuous operation.
- The overall energy balance including compressed-air generation for stage 1.
- Control behaviour and seasonal performance under real load profiles.
Where it could matter
- Building heating and hot water
- Industrial process heat
- Retrofitting existing heating systems
Request more
information
Factsheets, technical documents and presentations on Heat Pump 4.0 are not public downloads. Tell us who you are and what you need, and we will share what is appropriate.
Continue
secureAIR
secureAIR is a wearable respiratory protection system with a transparent mouth-and-nose shield. Integrated micro-fans guide the breathing air through a compact UV-C LED unit, with the aim of inactivating viruses and bacteria directly in the air stream. The face stays visible, and breathing and speech are meant to stay as unhindered as possible.
Flat Rotor
The Flat Rotor works horizontally instead of high on a tower. It does not need to be turned into the wind, it produces far lower tilting and bending loads, and it can be deployed modularly on roofs, industrial sites, farmland or container platforms. Small prototypes are in trial operation.
Tube-Body Turbine
The tube-body turbine guides flowing water through a spiral, rotating tube body. Instead of braking the flow head-on, it uses the forces created by continuously deflecting the water mass. A larger prototype has been tested and measured in the river Elbe.