A naturally aspirated convector for domestic heating application with low water temperature sources

The introduction of low temperature renewable energy sources such as geothermal heat pumps into domestic central heating systems will demand that new technologies be developed to dissipate the required heat loads into homes. The main reason for this is the lower operating temperatures associated with these energy sources, which can be as low as 35°C and rarely exceed 55°C. Unless the appropriate heat exchanger is deployed, expensive and intrusive alternatives such as forced air convectors, under floor heating and home insulation retrofitting must be considered. This work details the development of a turn-key heat pipe based naturally aspirated convector for domestic central heating applications. The results show that the heat pipe convector design has a power density of nearly 3 times that of a popular off the shelf panel radiator as well as a finned-serpentine convector. Furthermore, the low water content associated with the heat pipes results in a unit with a much reduced thermal response time which could be advantageous in the context of building thermoregulation.