Heating System Conversion

Decarbonization space heating often requires converting a heating system with a conventional boiler to a heat pump. Since heat pumps are only effective at low temperature, much more effective radiators are needed. In the case of pre-existing conventional heating system, the main drawback when switching to a low-temperature one is the need for a substantial increase of the surface of heat exchange of the conventional radiators to meet the required heating load. Could fan driven convective radiator be developed to do the same job? This project examines the possibility of adding a fan to an existing conventional radiator so that it would have the same heating power output at low temperature. The main task is to design a water driven system that uses the flow through the radiator to turn a fan, with a magnetic coupling to avoid seals, specify its performance parameters, and build a prototype.

Project Details