Sep 20 – 25, 2026
University of Graz
Europe/Vienna timezone

Advanced safety concepts for R290 heat pumps in residential applications

Sep 21, 2026, 4:15 PM
15m
HS 05.12 (University of Graz)

HS 05.12

University of Graz

05 - Physics, 1st floor
3) Contributed talk EnS: Energy and Sustainability Parallel

Speaker

Mr Stephan Preisinger (Ochsner Wärmepumpen GmbH)

Description

To replace gas boilers used in multi-family homes safety concepts are crucial for the usage of R290-based heat pumps. While a reduced refrigerant charge mitigates risks, a higher charge allows greater heating capacities, enabling both space heating and domestic hot water production. The FFG-project "WISE" targets a refrigerant charge above 150 g, while ensuring that the maximum releasable charge remains below this limit. Simulations of the charge distribution are used to identify the component holding the largest amount of R290 in the system. Additionally, we evaluate the methods and sensor technologies suitable for detecting possible leakage scenarios. This work summarizes the results of refrigerant simulations and proposes a generic strategy for detecting leaks of indoor R290 heat pumps.

Author

Mr Stephan Preisinger (Ochsner Wärmepumpen GmbH)

Co-authors

Dr Felix Hochwallner (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH) Dr Heinz Moisi (Ochsner Wärmepumpen GmbH) Dr Christoph Reichl (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH)

Presentation materials

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