The residential heat pump is becoming more and more important as a means of heating and cooling homes. The American family is booming increasingly aware of year—round air conditioning in all its various aspects, not only for hosting and cooling the homo, but also for humidity control and air filtration. All those tasks may be accomplished with the installation of a single heat pump unit.

Aside from the relatively new concept of cooling buildings during the summer, the heat pump has very distinct advantages when its use as a means of heating alone is considered. The heat pump uses electricity to heat. The individual can perceive immediate advantages in this aspect. The dirt and noxious gases of petroleum or coal combustion are eliminated. The fuel handling and combustion by-product removal equipment are no longer necessary. There is a significant reduction of fire hazard which should be reflected in lower fire insurance costs. The installation of a heat pump would be a distinct advantage architecturally because the heating unit no longer must be placed in a basement or large utility room adjacent to a chimney and fuel storage. In communities where smoke or smog conditions have become serious, extensive installation of electric heating apparatus would be most beneficial.

Unless the consumer is willing to assign a monetary value to the afore-listed advantages of the heat pump, he will generally find that in areas where electricity costs over 1-1/2 cents per KWH, it is more expensive to operate than a conventional heating plant.(1O) This figure will of course vary with local fuel costs, heat loads, and heat pump coefficient of performance (COP). In recent years power companies have enthusiastically encouraged the widespread installation of electric heating apparatus, such as the heat pump, by attempting to make their operating costs competitive to other forms of heating. The reason for this encouragement may easily be detected by studying power consumption statistics. The influx of an increasing number of electrical appliances into the home has greatly increased the average power consumption in most areas. However this power consumption varies greatly with the time of day, being at a peak in the early evening, and at a relatively very low minimum in the early morning hours. The utility companies must install sufficient capacity to carry these peak loads, and therefore have machinery idle or operating below rated load and efficiency during the minimum consumption periods. To help offset this economically adverse condition, the power companies are in many areas willing to give rate discounts to consumers using electric heating, as the greatest capacity demands are placed on these units during the minimum power consumption hours. Owners of heat pumps may receive power rate discounts generally in one of two ways, either by a reduced cost per KWH over a certain number, or by the installation of a power meter in which time is integrated with the rate of flow of power, giving a separate or a numerically reduced reading during the off peak hours. The former method is in more widespread use today, however the latter method, although more involved and costly, seems to be more in line with power company objectives.

The author has been commissioned as consultant to the architect to design a heat pump system for a proposed residence for Brig. General C. H. Shuey, U.S.H.C. (Ret.). This home is to be built on Sinnepuxant Bay, Maryland. The architect has specified heating is to be accomplished by means of a radiant floor panel. This requirement together with the proximity of a boundless supply of water to use as the heat pump sink and heat source, suggests the use of a water-to—water heat pump system. As a radiant floor panel cannot be used to cool, auxiliary air refrigerating apparatus will have to be installed.

The objects of this thesis will be to compute the heating and cooling requirements for the building; to design the radiant floor panels and auxiliary cooling apparatus; and to design the water-to-water heat pump and its associated equipment.