Fuel-cell ejector heat pump integrated system for annual air conditioning

Abstract Nowadays the need for energy produced by environmental friendly means has been leading the energy sector to more technological solutions such as fuel cells. Fuel cells generate power and reject heat through the consumption of natural gas (or hydrogen in a long term view) suitable for electrical and thermal requests for different users. The chemical process which takes place is, in principle, with no pollutants and noiseless. On the other hand, ejector heat pumps are supposed to work with low-temperature thermal energy and a limited contribution of mechanical energy thus allowing small-size heat pumps to recover fuel cells, rejected heat. The aim of this paper is to analyse the performance of the fuel-cell ejector heat pump integrated system under different conditions (at the boiler, condenser and evaporator level) and for several refrigerants, above all those with low or null ODP. A dedicated-software has been developed to undertake the energy analysis for a housing application.