{"id":23387,"date":"2026-09-15T10:48:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/?p=23387"},"modified":"2026-09-15T10:48:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T08:48:47","slug":"refrigeration-innovation-center-heat-pumps-landshut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/insights\/refrigeration-innovation-center-heat-pumps-landshut_23387\/","title":{"rendered":"Refrig\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion Inno\u00adva\u00adtion Center: where heat pumps freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whether on a freezing winter\u2019s morning or a hot summer\u2019s day, heat pumps must operate reli\u00adably under a wide range of outdoor condi\u00adtions. They must be able to heat and\u2014increasingly\u2014cool as well. Fans play a key role in this. They circu\u00adlate air through the heat exchanger and influ\u00adence how effi\u00adciently the entire system operates\u2014not only the indi\u00advidual compo\u00adnents, but also how these interact within the system. So, how well do the fan, inverter elec\u00adtronics, evap\u00ado\u00adrator, and refrig\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion cycle work together? And what happens when ice forms in cold, humid condi\u00adtions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Refrig\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion Inno\u00adva\u00adtion Center (KIZ) in Land\u00adshut answers precisely these kinds of ques\u00adtions. Here, ebm-papst tests air-to-water heat pumps and chillers\u2014refrigeration units used to cool machinery and buildings\u2014under real\u00adistic envi\u00adron\u00admental condi\u00adtions. The center was estab\u00adlished in 2024\/25 and Markus Gehrecke from the Center of Compe\u00adtence Refrig\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion Cycle is respon\u00adsible for its oper\u00ada\u00adtion and further devel\u00adop\u00adment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More real\u00adistic testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The KIZ essen\u00adtially consists of two parts: a climate chamber and a water test bench. The climate chamber simu\u00adlates the outdoor condi\u00adtions to which a heat pump is exposed during oper\u00ada\u00adtion. It can be precisely controlled to heat, cool, humidify, and dehu\u00admidify. The air temper\u00ada\u00adture can be set from \u221225 to +70 degrees Celsius, and the rela\u00adtive humidity from 10 to 95 percent. Air circu\u00adla\u00adtion is provided by a FanGrid consisting of four RadiPac radial fans from ebm-papst that deliver up to 21,000 m\u00b3\/h, as required in the tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the KIZ, we\u2019re creating a test envi\u00adron\u00adment where we can better under\u00adstand heat pumps and chillers and tailor our compo\u00adnents specif\u00adi\u00adcally to them.<\/p>\nMarkus Gehrecke, Center of Compe\u00adtence Refrig\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion Cycle<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This allows for the simu\u00adla\u00adtion of real-world oper\u00adating scenarios\u2014from freezing cold winters to hot summer days. The tests demon\u00adstrate how a heat pump reacts to changing outdoor condi\u00adtions, and indi\u00advidual measure\u00adment data provides a more precise under\u00adstanding of the entire system. \u201cIssues such as icing or de-icing, in partic\u00adular, can often only be eval\u00adu\u00adated during actual oper\u00ada\u00adtion,\u201d explains Gehrecke. \u201cIn the climate chamber, we can specif\u00adi\u00adcally recreate such situ\u00ada\u00adtions and deter\u00admine what impact they have on the effi\u00adciency and oper\u00ada\u00adtional behavior of the heat pump and its compo\u00adnents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In freezing tests, temper\u00ada\u00adture measure\u00adment grids and thermal imaging cameras reveal how cold, mois\u00adture, and airflow affect the heat pump. (Images | ebm-papst)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the climate chamber simu\u00adlates the outdoor climate, the water test bench simu\u00adlates the building side of the test heat pump\u2014that is, the heating or cooling circuit that will later deliver heat to the house or remove heat from it. It measures how much heating or cooling capacity is deliv\u00adered on the water side and how much elec\u00adtrical energy is required to do so. For this, it can specif\u00adi\u00adcally heat or cool water and records, among other things, flow rate, temper\u00ada\u00adtures, elec\u00adtrical power, and heat output. These values are used to deter\u00admine the coef\u00adfi\u00adcient of perfor\u00admance (COP). This metric indi\u00adcates how effi\u00adciently a heat pump oper\u00adates, or in other words, how much heat it gener\u00adates from the elec\u00adtrical energy consumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greater reli\u00ada\u00adbility for devel\u00adop\u00adment and customers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For ebm-papst, the KIZ repre\u00adsents an impor\u00adtant step toward gaining an even better under\u00adstanding of the overall system of any heat pump or chiller. In the past, it was possible to test primarily indi\u00advidual compo\u00adnents. Today, complete systems can be tested\u2014with heating or cooling capac\u00adi\u00adties of up to 26 kilo\u00adwatts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u20130<\/span> bis +0<\/span>\u00b0C<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Air temper\u00ada\u00adture range of the climate chamber<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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0<\/span> kW<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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maximum heating or cooling capacity in the test bench<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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0<\/span> bis 0<\/span>%<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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adjustable rela\u00adtive humidity<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The customers are the ones who benefit the most. After all, the closer a test is to the even\u00adtual appli\u00adca\u00adtion, the more reli\u00adable the results are. This allows tech\u00adnical issues to be addressed even before a system is oper\u00ada\u00adtional in the field. \u201cFor our customers, this means we\u2019re not just a compo\u00adnent supplier, we\u2019re a devel\u00adop\u00adment partner,\u201d says Gehrecke. \u201cWe can simu\u00adlate specific appli\u00adca\u00adtions and work together to deter\u00admine what really matters during later oper\u00ada\u00adtion.\u201d In Land\u00adshut, heat pumps are already proving today what they\u2019ll need to deliver later in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Addi\u00adtional testing: the test center in Mulfingen-Hollen\u00adbach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The KIZ in Land\u00adshut exam\u00adines complete heat pump systems in real-world appli\u00adca\u00adtions. At the testing center in Mulfingen-Hollen\u00adbach, on the other hand, ebm-papst tests the dura\u00adbility of the fans them\u00adselves. Every year, across approx\u00adi\u00admately 2,500 square meters, several hundred fans, new sizes, and indi\u00advidual compo\u00adnents undergo testing in real-world envi\u00adron\u00admental conditions\u2014including shock and vibra\u00adtion, climate, water, salt spray, and accel\u00ader\u00adated life tests. This allows ebm-papst to iden\u00adtify early on how prod\u00aducts react to stress and whether they can reli\u00adably with\u00adstand the rigors of field use.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Exclu\u00adsive insights into all test fields<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about how ebm-papst puts fans to the test in the indi\u00advidual test fields. Each article with exciting insights, videos and pictures!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shock and vibra\u00adtion<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Climate<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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impeller strength, spin and cycle test<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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IP protec\u00adtion class Water<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Salt spray<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Accel\u00ader\u00adated service life tests<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n