Hybrid Thermal Apparatus
Areas
Energy
Fields of use
Heating and cooling systems
Current state of technology
Prototype under development
Intellectual property
International patent application PCT/IB2017/056804
Developed by
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Reference
821-78/2016
Contact
Download PDF
- TO-Hybrid-thermal-apparatus_EN.pdf (pdf, 169 KB)
Background
Great majority of all cooling and heat-pumping systems are based on vapour-compression technology. The technology dates back to 1834, making it a dated and environmentally unfriendly technology with relatively low efficiency. There are alternatives which, however, for various reasons have not yet made a breakthrough in everyday use. One of the alternatives is elastocaloric cooling and heating, which has been recognized by the USA Department of Energy and European Commission as the most perspective technology of the future in this field.
Description of invention
The invention presents a hybrid cooling and heating system. It is based on the idea of exploiting the pressure difference of the vapour-compression system for loading and unloading of elastocaloric material, which generates the elastocaloric effect.
Main advantages
Introduction of the hybrid system promises higher efficiency and consequently reduced consumption of energy and refrigerants which are not environmentally friendly. Furthermore, the hybrid system enables gradual introduction of the alternative “green” technology of the elastocaloric cooling and heating.