Indus­tries

Heating

EMC at air/water heat pumps: Do not disturb!

The Euro­pean EMC Direc­tive (2014/30/EU) defines elec­tro­mag­netic compat­i­bility as “the ability of equip­ment to func­tion satis­fac­to­rily in its elec­tro­mag­netic envi­ron­ment without intro­ducing intol­er­able elec­tro­mag­netic distur­bances. ” It applies to all elec­tricity-consuming appa­ratus, including air/water heat pumps, which are today increas­ingly popular as an envi­ron­men­tally friendly heating solu­tion. This means that both the compo­nents used in the heat pumps – such as fans – and the appa­ratus as a whole may only generate a certain level of elec­tro­mag­netic distur­bance and may itself only be influ­enced by a certain level of such distur­bance. The levels are defined in stan­dards, compli­ance with which must be ensured by heat pump manu­fac­turers. Well-equipped EMC test labo­ra­to­ries combined with engi­neering exper­tise are a prereq­ui­site for this.»

Safety first, not just for air/water heat pumps

Today’s heating systems require concepts based on renew­able ener­gies. Heat pumps are there­fore becoming ever more popular in both new build­ings and reno­va­tions and are subsi­dized by funding in many cases. Air/water heat pumps are widely used due to their effi­ciency and ease of set-up and instal­la­tion. They use thermal energy from the ambient air and transfer it to the hot water circuit via an inter­me­diate circuit with refrig­erant.»

Fans for air/water heat pumps

For many detached houses and apart­ment build­ings, air-to-water heat pumps are not only a sensible solu­tion due to their perfor­mance, but also an impor­tant pillar of more sustain­able heat gener­a­tion. Low purchase costs, low instal­la­tion costs and a small instal­la­tion area make them an attrac­tive heating option not only in new build­ings. Modern EC fans play a key role in ensuring that the systems operate very effi­ciently and cost-effec­­tively.»

New wind for resi­den­tial venti­lation and switch cabinet cooling

When it comes to devices for central resi­den­tial venti­lation and air condi­tioning, as well as heat pumps, air puri­fiers and switch cabinet cooling, ever lower energy consump­tion is required while main­taining compact dimen­sions. For this reason, there is a demand for compact fans that deliver large air flows with low back pres­sure while oper­ating as energy-effi­­ciently and quietly as possible. ebm-papst has devel­oped the second gener­a­tion RadiCal centrifugal fans with precisely these require­ments in mind.»

Sound­check for heat­pumps: Psychoa­coustics for minimum noise gener­a­tion

Air/water heat­pumps with heat outputs from 3 to 30 kW enjoy a high level of accep­tance in heating tech­nology. However, they do not work completely silently and the more dense the build­ings are, the more the neigh­bors can get disturbed by noise pollu­tion. It is by no means just the measur­able sound pres­sure level that is crucial, but human noise percep­tion, which is where psychoa­coustics and its exam­i­na­tion methods come into play.»

Increasing fan effi­ciency

The Euro­pean Union’s Ecode­sign Direc­tive (ErP Direc­tive), is the basis for assessing the effi­ciency of various compo­nents and devices. For example, the minimum effi­ciency of fans is spec­i­fied in the fan regu­la­tion, Regu­la­tion (EU) No. 327/2011, which also considers fans that are built into refrig­er­a­tion, air condi­tioning and venti­lation equip­ment. Such equip­ment can only be granted a CE marking if its fans satisfy the fan regulation’s require­ments.»