Studies On A Metal Hydride Based Year-Round Comfort Heating And Cooling System For Extreme Climates

Heating and cooling systems based on hydrogen sorption in metallic alloys have attracted researchers due to their advantages such as environmental friendliness, ability to utilize low-grade waste or renewable energy, wide operating temperature ranges, and availability of a plethora of alloys to choose from. These heat-operated systems offer a viable alternative to conventional electrically driven HVAC systems. In this paper, a metal hydride-based heating and cooling system (MHHCS) which can cater to the year-round comfort air-conditioning of locations with extreme climatic conditions is proposed. The paper describes the cyclic operation of the MHHCS for application in buildings through the different seasons of a year. The performance of the system is studied using a matched alloy pair of Zr(0.82)Mm(0.09)Ti(0.09)Fe(1.4)Cr(0.6) - LaNi4.6Al0.4 chosen based on thermodynamics and reaction kinetics. This paper discusses the effects of system parameters and operating conditions on the year-round performance of the MHHCS. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.