Lessons Learned from Load-Based Testing of Heat Pumps
How is performance of variable-speed heat pumps accurately measured? NEEA collaborated with PG&E, BC Hydro, and Purdue University to find out.
Using CSA EXP07:19, a load-based test and rating procedure for residential air-source heat pumps and air conditioners, the collaboration determined that load-based testing offers a better way to measure the complex performance of modern, variable-speed systems.
Testing revealed complex equipment behavior that is often built into product firmware but not revealed in conventional lab test procedures, uncovering substantial performance variability and substantial differences in relative ranking of products.
The single largest reason for the performance variability is a result of the equipment’s built-in controls. Load based testing reveals products that have unstable built-in logic control.
Why do these results matter? Load-based testing:
The most significant conclusions of the research are as follows: