Question

A house is heated and maintained at 25^oC by a heat pump. If the air is extracted from outside atmosphere at 10^oC, the maximum possible COP is most likely:

a.) 8.51

b.) 19.87

c.) 4.58

d.) 11.92

Thermodynamics

Answer 1

COP or coefficient of performance of a heat pump can be calculated by formula

COP = T(max) / ( T ( max) - T ( min) ) ... (1)

Here given values are,

T ( max) = 25°C

T ( min) = 10° C

We use temperature in Kelvin for all the calculations.

To convert Celsius to Kelvin, we simply add 273 to each value.

Hence, T ( max) = 273 + 25 = 298 K

T ( min) = 273 + 10 = 283 K

Subsituting these values in eq 1,

We get, COP = 298 / (298 - 283 ) = 298 / 15 = 19.87

( Answer)

Hence, the maximum COP can be 19.87.

Option (b) is correct.