Domestic heating is at a critical crossroads. While heat pumps are essential to Europe’s decarbonisation, traditional designs have reached a performance limit dictated by rigid manufacturing and conventional system layouts. The video below explores the technological framework developed by the smart-pumps project to overcome these barriers.
To achieve a total technological evolution, the Smart-Pumps project redesigns the heat pump anatomy through three core pillars:
- Advanced manufacturing (the body): the project is applying hybrid manufacturing to create multi-material, circular components. This approach unifies design and production, integrating recycled materials and eliminating waste directly at the source.
- Real-time monitoring (the senses): the integration of non-invasive ultrasonic sensors enables the system to analyse refrigerant flow in real time. By monitoring the hardware without cutting pipes or making invasive modifications, the technology shifts the paradigm from reactive repairs to intelligent, predictive maintenance.
- Distributed intelligence (the brain): the implementation of a distributed iot architecture prioritises safety, economic efficiency, and user comfort through deterministic logic. This allows for precise local control balanced with sophisticated cloud analytics to meet the thermal demand of the building.
By combining these pillars with natural refrigerants like R290 (propane), this architecture delivers a versatile, highly efficient solution with a near-zero global warming potential.
As the project approaches the validation phase which will take place at the Danfoss Application Development Center, these innovations will be translated from digital models into tested, functional prototypes.
