Trane heat pump rises to cold climate challenge
25th June 2024
USA: Trane Technologies has announced that its high efficiency prototype heat pump has successfully completed the US Department of Energy’s Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge.
After surpassing DOE laboratory tests, the Trane unit was installed in a house in Boise, Idaho, where it successfully heated and cooled the residence over two full summer and winter seasons, delivering average energy savings of 15-20%. During the two winters, it called on its backup electric heat strip only 10% of the time.
The Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge was announced by the US DOE in 2021 in an effort to improve the performance and energy-efficiency of cold climate heat pumps and accelerate the market’s shift to heat pumps.
“We were confident going into the Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge in our ability to deliver cutting-edge, highly-efficient climate control solutions – the results were outstanding and we’re proud of our performance,” said Trane Technologies’ president of residential HVAC Dwayne Cowan.
“Our modelling was spot on with how the prototype functioned in the field, and we were thrilled to hear of the homeowner’s outstanding reviews as well as their energy savings,” said colleague Katie Davis, vice president of engineering and technology.
The company’s prototype has been relocated to its Tyler, Texas, manufacturing facility, where it will continue to undergo performance evaluations at the site’s psychrometric testing labs. Used for new product development programmes, the facility is capable of recreating temperatures as low as -20ºF (-29ºC).
Trane says it will complete the design, with additional comfort and efficiency enhancements, in 2025.
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