The Active Building Centre (ABC) was set up to help transform construction.
A Pure Thermal Hydrocarbon Heat Pump was selected to be installed at the ABC to demonstrate how NATURAL refrigerants can be utilised within retrofit decarbonisation applications to displace fossil fuels.
ABC has shown through real-life installations that active energy principles and lower-carbon buildings can be delivered.
As we seek to decarbonise our society, we can expect greater pressure on the built environment sector to do more towards getting to a net zero pathway.
The built environment alone accounts for at least 25% of emissions today and both new build and existing stock need to change to reduce this impact.
Since 2020, ABC has influenced a range of new-build projects against a backdrop of challenges. From a global pandemic to Britain’s exit from the European Union, and several linked supply chain challenges.
The introduction of the Hydrocarbon Heat Pump has enabled the Active Building Centre to demonstrate that the use of Natural Refrigerant Heat Pumps is practical and effective in terms of UK retrofit applications.
Purple i 160 Hydrocarbon Air Source Heat Pump System (160kW at a design -5C external ambient temperature)
Comprising:
1 x Purple i Enerblue 50.2 Air Source Heat Pump unit
Ref: Design 55/43C and -5C external ambient condition
Hydrocarbon Refrigerant R290 has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 3 and it’s use is now dramatically increasing.
Natural Refrigerant Heat Pumps provide a non F-Gas alternative selection choice and are suited to applications that are matched to the 70C output temperature that these units can deliver.
Hydrocarbon Heat Pumps use refrigerants that have been around for over 150 years and are more than well proven offering efficient performance and practical application.
The objective of this project was to validate and demonstrate to specifiers and end users that the use of heat pumps with Natural Refrigerants, within the current scope of energy & carbon reductions, did not pose any material barriers with regard to installation, operation, and performance.
This objective has been achieved with this Purple i Heat Pump providing a significant contribution to this exemplar scheme.
