ActionZero heat pump delivers rapid decarbonisation

With heat accounting for 50% of energy use globally and up to 40% of global C02 emissions, the energy transition and move to a more sustainable global economy cannot be delivered unless we decarbonise heat.

ActionZero, a Cork-based climate technology company, has developed a high temperature heat pump technology, the EscoPod, which it believes will be a disruptive game-changer in the rapid decarbonisation of heat.

The award-winning, patented EscoPod was designed to replace traditional heating systems with a high-efficiency and fossil-fuel-free alternative, and is said to reduce carbon emissions, energy use and even costs by up to 70%. It produces multifunctional outputs and will seamlessly integrate into process heating, space heating, domestic hot water and cooling systems.

A unique feature of the EscoPod when used in space heating applications is that it does not require a deep retrofit to install as the system can deliver output temperatures of up to 80°C for space heating circuits. This offers many organisations a lifeline, a realistic pathway to decarbonise their operations without enormous cost and business interruption.

In terms of application, the EscoPod range has been designed specifically to deliver heating and cooling across industry, healthcare and difficult-todecarbonise commercial buildings.

How EscoPod works

Designed and built in Ireland, some of the key features of EscoPod include the use of an economiser circuit, subcooling, optimised defrost cycle management and premium components for extended design and operations life.

In any heating system heat will flow in one direction only – from a hightemperature source to low temperature sink. Therefore, in an 80°C heating system with a water return temperature of 70°C, only 10°C of heat can be removed from the refrigerant, despite the refrigerant being heated from below ambient air temperature to above 80°C.

Some alternative high-temperature heating systems on the market are typically suited to heating water with a low inlet temperature, such as mains water, as they depend on heat transfer

(from cooling the liquid refrigerant to low temperatures) to operate efficiently.

Up to now, a system with high water return and flow temperatures had to have a significant amount (70°C or more) of heat “dumped” to cool it to below ambient temperature so the heat from ambient air can be used to vaporise it again. A huge amount of heat/energy that has already been put into the refrigerant to achieve 80°C is available for use/heat recovery. This is the reason that the EscoPod utilises an economiser system and some of the benefits it delivers are:

• The economiser circuits are used to increase efficiency by delivering a percentage of the total heat output from a smaller, low power draw compressor using heat recovery from the high temperature liquid refrigerant as a source. It is more efficient and cost effective to use a smaller compressor, doing less work, to add to the heat output;

• Defrosting is a significant consumer of energy in any heat pump system, especially in a climate such as Ireland’s, where we have reasonably-high relative humidity (a cause of ice build-up when low ambient air temperatures prevail).

The EscoPod AZE/H defrost system takes energy from the high-pressure, high-temperature liquid refrigerant, enabling efficient defrosting while simultaneously providing heat to the heating circuit. Being able to defrost simultaneously also prevents large ice build-up in the first place;

• As well as using the economised mains heating circuit, the system can simultaneously provide heating for DHW/high-temperature sanitary water (up to 65°C) with no extra electricity consumption, using the sensible heat of the system;

• Finally, rather than cooling the ambient air, the system can also remove heat from a chilling (glycol) circuit, with no extra energy consumption. This allows clients to run a chiller system without any extra power consumption or equipment.

EscoPod features

• System uses highly-efficient low GWP, low toxicity and no ODP refrigerant R1234ze;

• Bespoke air source evaporator ensures the optimal quantity of heat is extracted from the air. The air source evaporators are sized to maximise the amount of heat transfer;

• Optimised defrost cycle management to significantly reduce defrost energy and ice buildup in the first instance;

• Variable speed fans on the evaporator draw in the required volumetric flow of air while minimising noise;

• Variable speed compressors allow for precise control over system operating conditions depending on ambient air temperature/conditions to maximise efficiency;

• Compressors are semi-hermetic allowing maintenance – which is more sustainable than replacement;

• High-capacity industrial compressor motors allow efficient operation at high discharge and high evaporation temperatures;

• Coalescent oil separator, minimal pressure drops and maximum oil recovery. Prevents oil foiling on heat exchangers, always ensuring maximum heat transfer efficiency even at part load;

• Electronically-controlled oil distribution between compressors ensures compressor longevity and maintains performance;

• Bespoke plate heat exchangers ensure optimal heat transfer for specified/ required conditions on site;

• Components and pipework layout optimised to minimise pressure drop in the system and to maximise efficiency.

Many awards for EscoPod

The EscoPod has been awarded several prestigious industry awards, including The Green Technology Award (Green Awards 2023) and the Best Innovative Product and the Overall Product of the Show Award at the SEAI Energy Show 2023. ActionZero CEO Denis Collins was also recently announced as a finalist in the 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

On the commercial side, ActionZero is currently engaged in several highprofile projects, actively installing heat pump systems for healthcare, commercial and industrial clients on sites in both the UK and Ireland.

To support the ongoing development and expansion of its EscoPod product range, ActionZero opened an Irish manufacturing and research and development centre in Tralee in May 2022. From here, the company designs and manufactures the heat pumps before exporting them to clients internationally.

ActionZero works closely with consulting engineers and specifiers to support organisations in both the healthcare and commercial sectors to enable the successful deployment of its heat pump technology. Continued engagement and partnership with system designers and specifiers remains a key part of ActionZero’s strategy.

For further details on ActionZero see www.actionzero.com