Efficient and climate-neutral heating concept through novel drive of an absorption heat pump by means of a commercially available gas boiler (AbsorpTherm)

To achieve the German government's climate targets, energy-efficient technologies must be used to generate electricity and heat. Heat pumps offer a climate-friendly solution in private households as well as in industry or commerce. The majority of heat pumps installed today are compression heat pumps driven by electricity. In order to limit the demand for electricity, it is therefore necessary to make efficient use of other climate-neutral technologies, such as bio- or synthesis gas, wood (pellets), and district or waste heat.

The aim of the project is to achieve a more efficient heating concept by combining fuels and heat pumps. For this purpose, a special heat pump, called an absorption heat pump, is used. These heat pumps are driven by heat instead of electricity ("thermal compressor") and can effectively use the high temperature, for example, of a combustion process. However, they otherwise function in the same way as electricity-driven compression heat pumps. The absorption heat pump extracts heat from the environment, raising it to a higher temperature level. The envisaged prototype can thus be described as a heat booster. The heat from the fuel plus the environmental heat extracted by the absorption heat pump is available as heating energy. The fuel required to heat the building is thus significantly reduced.

Existing climate-neutral energy sources could thus be used more efficiently. The prototype built here is a versatile absorption heat pump module for heating one- and two-family houses. It can be coupled with any of the aforementioned heat sources; in this project, for example, this is implemented with a conventional gas boiler.