Simulation of a Magnetocaloric Heat Pump in Building Technology

Abstract

Increased quality of building envelopes in the last decades leads to decreased heating demands of new buildings and therefore heating devices with lower heating powers are needed. !ere is a lack of suitable solutions in the heating market in the small power range, which can cover small heating loads decentral without distribution losses. In the presented study, the potential of magnetocaloric heating is investigated. Apart from the advantage that no climate-relevant gases are used compared to commonly used compression heat pumps, this technology is suitable for covering low heating requirements. A cornerstone of the investigation is the development of a programme for simulating the behaviour of a building-integrated magnetocaloric heat pump. Target is to determine the effect of the change in basic properties such as the nature of the magnetocaloric material, the magnetic flux density, the working frequency, etc., but also to determine the influence of building parameters on the overall efficiency of the heating system.