Integration of Heat Pump Units with Modern Refrigerants in Residential District Heating and Cooling Systems

The decline in natural resources of organic fuels, the gradual deterioration of the living environment and the ecological situation of people are forcing specialists in the field to think about using more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies. Heat pump installations (HPI) can be one of them. These, in thermodynamic and technological processes, use environmentally safe electrical energy obtained at a nuclear power plant, thermal power plant or combined heat and power plant, located at a safe distance from residential areas, use the energy of low-temperature thermal sources (LTS), and under normal operating conditions do not pose a danger to the population. However, there is a danger condition for RHCs: the type of refrigerant used in them and the formation of hazardous substances in the event of natural leakage and repairs - in the surrounding environment, in the biosphere, in the ozone layer. Refrigerants can emit greenhouse gases and, to a lesser extent, toxic substances. Their division into natural substances and hydrocarbons, which include one or another hazardous substances - fluorine, chlorine, etc., limits the areas of application of various refrigerants, although many of them have sufficient or high thermodynamic and energy properties.